No Rest for the Dead
by Heavy Brass
Summary: A year the defeat of Vegnagun, Yuna is brought a sphere by Rikku which was found in the ruins of one of Yevon's temples. Determined to unravel the mystery, Yuna sets out again, joined by friends new and old. T for violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

* * *

  
In a land called Spira, an entity known only as "Sin" plagued the world with destruction and death. The only individuals able to combat this beast of unspeakable power effectively were those known as "summoners". As their name implies, these people had the ability to call upon powerful beings called "Aeons", entities created from the dreams people who had willingly sealed themselves in a permanent state of slumber. With Aeons as their allies, the summoners would embark on individual pilgrimages to obtain the "Final Aeon", the one way the summoners could kill Sin. The Final Aeon came with a high price, however. In order to use it, the summoner must sacrifice one of their companions taken on their pilgrimage. The "guardian" would become the vessel which harnessed the power of the Final Aeon, and to summon it, the summoner had to sacrifice themselves as well. Each time the Final Aeon was summoned, it destroyed Sin and brought forth a ten year period known as "the Calm", a time where Sin would not exist. But after the ten years, Sin would return and the cycle would begin again.

A thousand years after Sin first appeared, a young summoner named Yuna, following the footsteps of her father, the great summoner Lord Braska, began her own pilgrimage in an attempt to destroy Sin. Accompanied and supported by her guardians, she traveled across Spira, gaining the aid of the Aeons scattered amongst the land. While originally a devout follower of the teachings of Yevon, a summoner from the time Sin first appeared, Yuna and her friends uncovered more of the hidden facts surrounding Sin and the Aeons. Eventually, they encounter Lady Yunalesca, an undead summoner chosen by Yu Yevon himself to pass down the ability to summon the Final Aeon. Yuna began to question the nature of the Final Aeon, and eventually discovered that after the Final Aeon destroyed Sin, it would be possessed by Yu Yevon, who would transform it into a new Sin, a process which took ten years. Refusing to follow that path that countless others had, Yuna and her party instead battle Yunalesca and killed her, forever destroying the ability to obtain the Final Aeon. The group then assaulted Sin itself, penetrating it to its core and fought Yu Yevon. In the ensuing battle, the Aeons that Yuna had befriended on her pilgrimage sacrificed themselves to herald Yu Yevon's defeat. With Yu Yevon defeated, Sin could never be resurrected, which brought forth a time known as the "Eternal Calm".

Two years passed after the defeat of Sin. The summoner Yuna had shed her teachings of Yu Yevon and walked a path of her own. She joined up with her friend and former guardian, Rikku, as part of a group of "sphere hunters" known as the Gullwings. Yuna's motivation for doing so was to find out more about a sphere which contained images of a man who looked like Tidus, Yuna's love, who had faded from existence after the defeat of Sin. Yuna, Rikku, and another sphere hunter named Paine, embarked on their own adventure Their travels eventually lead them to encounter Shuyin, a young man who lived a thousand years ago, who spirit is now driven by his rage over the deaths of himself and his lover, Lenne. Shuyin planned to take control of a machine known as Vegnagun, planning to destroy Spira with its power. The Gullwings, with help from leaders and fellow sphere hunters, found Vegnagun, dismantled it, and defeated Shuyin. After his defeat, Lenne appeared and calmed down the raging spirit, allowing the two to fade away in peace. As a gift to Yuna, the Fayth, who had been controlled by Shuyin in his rage, resurrected Tidus. The Gullwings disbanded, and Yuna, Rikku, and Paine went their separate ways. They would reunite a few months later to climb a mysterious tower. Though the person who brought the group together was unknown initially, Paine revealed that she was the one who reunited them for another adventure. After reaching the top of the tower, the three promised to keep in contact with each other, making sure their unbreakable bond would be just that. The three again went their separate ways, Yuna, back to her life with Tidus on Besaid, Rikku, to searching for sunken technology, and Paine, back to her world-spanning travels.

And now...

It has been a year since Shuyin's defeat. The various factions that had been established after Sin's most recent defeat had been dissolved to lead Spira into a new age. The leaders of the dissolved factions banded together for this cause, but since they have, their followers have had difficulties mixing in with each other. The temples that once stood as homes to the Aeons have now been sealed off to the public. Occasionally, fiends would make their way into the structures and it fall on whoever stepped up at the time to exterminate the unwelcome visitors. These sorts of opportunities would draw people to the temples that would seek hidden treasures lost within.

This story begins at Kilika Temple, the former home of the Aeon Ifrit, which has become occupied by fiends. Following the rumors of rare treasure within a hidden chamber, Rikku became a hired hand in an effort to find the rumored treasure. Unsure of what she'll find, the young Al Bhed ventures into the temple...

* * *

The corridors of Kilika's temple were dimly lit by small sconces, the hissing and growling of a variety of fiends could be heard echoing through the stone halls, accompanied by the crackle of the fire within the lit sconces and the roar of massive fires from deeper within the temple. Occasionally, the cry of a fiend bing slain could be heard. This once peaceful temple had been turned into a battleground. There were those, however, that would take advantage of it.

A pair of green eyes with corkscrew pupils gazed down the maze of hallways from around a corner. Seeing a fiend come in to view from down the corridor, the Al Bhed girl ducked out of sight, pressing her back up against the wall, her hands tightly gripping twin daggers. In the monts that had passed since she and the Gullwings had last been together, very little had changed about her attire. She wore a slightly larger leather belt which was adorned with multiple pouches as well as numerous trinkets. Still sporting blonde hair tied into a ponytail with additional braids and donning her yellow bikini, brown skirt, scarf, gloves, sleeves, and the blue headband, she had acquired a new pair of boots. Similar to her previous ones in color scheme, blue and white, the boots now had laces and a blue bow at the top of the boot, meeting with the bottom of her calf.

Letting out a deep breath, Rikku rounded the corner and vanished into the shadows. The large fiend, a scaley quadruped, was looking in a direction different from the one Rikku was approaching from, unaware that it was being stalked. A flash of steel announced the arrival of Rikku, who snuck up behind the fiend without it sensing her at all. She crouched down, her daggers held tight, and pounced. The fiend felt Rikku's feet on its back, which was followed by two very sharp blades piercing the back of its neck. The fiend reared up and yelped in a vain effort to shake the assailant from its back. Rikku gritted her teeth, keeping the blades sunk in the fiend's neck. Moments later, the fiend collapsed, turning into a small cluster of glowing pyreflies and dispersed seconds later.

"Rikku.... yna oui ugyo?" said a voice in her ear. Rikku tossed the dagger in her right hand to her left hand and put her index finger up to her ear. "Oac, Broher. Yc muhk yc E kad dra tnub uh dras. E fuh'd ryja bnupmasc." responded Rikku. The Al Bhed looked around then began to silently pad down the hallway. "That's about twenty so far... That should be enough." she said to herself. A grin crept across her lips. "Time to look around for a bit..." Rikku pressed up against a wall and peered around a corner. "Buddy," she said. "How close am I to the target?" A voice different from the one before responded, "Still a ways away. You should take that turn that you're up against." Rikku peeked around the corner. "That will get you closer." continued Buddy. Rikku nodded. "Okay. Thanks!" she replied. The radio went silent as Rikku crept down the hallway, sticking into the shadows as much as she could, wary of any fiends that might come across her path. Buddy's voice was heard again on the radio. "Have you encountered any other... treasure hunters yet?"

Rikku shook her head. "Not yet, but if I had to guess, I'd say that LeBlanc is in here somewhere. She seems to know about a lot of this stuff before we do." replied Rikku as she rounded another corner, her eyes studying the wall. "Do you know any big names working the temple right now? Any that got hired?" asked the Al Bhed. "Well," began Buddy. "I managed to get a small list of some of the people that got hired. Pretty much just the random handful of soldiers of fortune. A groups here and there, but mainly people on their own." Rikku walked into a small room with a large brazier in the center, a roaring flame on top of the brass bowl. "Thanks Buddy. I'll let you guys know if I'm having any trouble." Rikku replied, looking around the room once more. Brother's voice was then heard over the radio. "Rikku, pa lynavim." Rikku nodded with a slight smile and responded, "E femm." The radio went silent as the Al Bhed vanished into the shadows again, leaving no trace of her passing.

* * *

In another part of the temple, in a hallway filled with pyreflies, three men stood at the end. One stood a little under six feet tall, another a few inches taller than six feet, and the last a monster of a man at nearly seven feet tall. The three were wearing suits of combat armor. The two shorter men were light combat armor, which was entirely black and consisted of a helmet, chest guard, combat boots, gauntlets, and plating on the legs. The plating had a slight sheen to it, and although it appeared heavy duty, it seemed rather lightweight. The parts of their bodies that weren't covered by the armor were covered by a black fabric of some sort. The helmet was smooth, sleek, and encompassed the wearer's entire head. A tinted glass covered the face while the rest of the helmet was made of the same materiel that the rest of the armor was made of. Small vertical slits were on the back of the helmet to allow airflow. The largest man's armor was much different from the armor his companions wore. Though it appeared to be made of the same material that the other armor is made from, the plating on this armor was much thicker and heaver, and the sheen present on the lighter version was absent. The bulky plating of the armor covered any part of the body it could, with the flexible parts substituted with the black fabric. This suit lacked a helmet, revealing the wearer to be a bald man who looked to be around thirty years old with skin the color of chocolate and dark brown eyes. He held a cigar end in his teeth and occasionally let out puffs of smoke.

The three of them carried different weaponry as well. The shortest carried a pistol in his hand, one that had runic engravings all over it. He had holsters slung across his shoulders. One was empty, the other contained a pistol identical to the one he was holding. Strapped on the bands of the holsters were clips of ammunition for his weapons. The other man wearing light combat armor carried a sniper rifle nearly five feet long. Mounted on the top of the gun was a scope of some sort, and further down the length of the gun was a stand which at this point was folded in. It had a singular barrel and was clip fed. Much like his counterpart, this man had bandolier slung across his chest, adorned with nothing but clips for his weapon. The largest of the three carried multiple weapons. At the moment, he held only one: a light machine gun with a box magazine. On his back, attached by magnetic bars on his armor, were a pair of identical, heavy-looking clip fed shotguns with pistol grips. Strapped to his lower back was another weapon. This one was a sawn-off shotgun. The barrels were made out of a heavy looking metal and the barrels were mounted on top of each other rather than side to side. It had a pistol grip, and from the hinge on the weapon, it was break action. He had two bandoliers slung on his chest. Both contained ammunition for his weapons. Strapped to his left leg was another holster of sorts, but this one holstered a number of metal canisters.

The pyreflies floated away as the three men observed. The heavily-armed man let out a puff of smoke as the smallest looked around, lowering his weapon. He observed the hallways, then spoke. "Split up." he said. The three went down separate hallways, all at different paces. The largest man was walking, the man carrying the sniper rifle was running, and the pistol wielding man was power walking down the hall. "Good thing we drew 'em out into the hallway." the pistol wielding man said into a radio in his helmet. "Didn't think there would be so many in the hallways." he continued. The largest man shrugged as he walked down the hallway. "Made it easier to find what we're supposed to be 'exterminating'." he replied. A shot was heard, and following that, the voice of the man carrying the sniper rifle announced over their radios, "106." The large man smiled. "106? That all?" he said. "You better catch up, Ironsight." The large man continued down the hallway, smiling. The man with the sniper rifle, amidst a cluster of pyreflies paused. "'That's all?' What are you at?" he asked. "110." replied the large man. Ironsight gritted his teeth. "Damn!" he shouted as he continued running down the hallway. The pistol wielding man pressed his back up against a wall near a corner and peeked around. The large man's voice was heard on the radio. "What are we doing in here again, Ace? If we're here because of the monsters..." asked the large man. The pistol wielding man replied, "Why wouldn't we be here?" he said, smiling. "This temple's been off limits to the general public, and that has to be for a reason. Maybe the world's leaders don't want us to unearth anything about the past." Ace continued, turning the corner and moving down the hallway.

"You actually think there's some dirty secret hidden in the temples that those guys don't want us to know about?" replied the large man, seeing a fiend at the end of the hall, one with lupine characteristics. He walked down, aiming his weapon. "We've gone on with less." he muttered. After speaking, he fired his machine gun sending a volley of bullets at the fiend. The fiend was torn to shreds by the attack and dispersed into a cloud of pyreflies. Ace smiled. "In any case, whatever we find is gonna have to be of some value." he said with glee. Ironsight spoke, saying, "But we're definitely not the only ones here with that frame of mind." Ace nodded. "I know. So let's get to hunting." said Ace. The large man shook his head. "Do we even know what the hell we're looking for other than some 'secret chamber'?" he asked. "Are we blowing up some walls this time around?" the large man asked, grinning. "No." Ace replied. "This place looks like it's not very structurally sound. You blow something up, the whole temple might collapse."

The large man, sighed. "Fine. I'll just bash through the weak walls."

* * *

Rikku heard gunshots from multiple hallways. She has suspected that LeBlanc and her cohorts would be here, but the gunshots she heard were unfamiliar, not recognizing them from any gun she knew about. Rikku dashed down a hall, proceeding deeper into the temple. "Rikku, just found out something you might like to here." began Buddy. "I did find out that the Canoneers are around." Rikku sighed. "Those guys? I thought they got picked up in Bevelle." she replied. Buddy coughed. "That was the rumor, but apparently they escaped through the sewers and are back out there." Buddy replied, the chirping and clicking of a console in the background could be heard as he talked. "Disasteriffic." huffed Rikku. "Nothing better than some rogue guns from the Machine League going around and causing trouble." "Yeah." agreed Buddy. "They're not getting paid for a job at the temple, so they're not there right now. But I hear that they're in the jungle outside of Kilika somewhere. Be careful, Rikku. These guys may not be invited, but that doesn't mean they won't crash the party. They won't play nice either, especially if they think there's something in here worth taking."

"I'll be fine." said Rikku. She walked into a large room with moss growing on the walls. As she walked through, her mind wandered, thinking of her times spent with Yuna and Paine. She missed those times, wishing that the two were with her for a mission like this. Snapping back to reality, Rikku rushed ahead.

As the young Al Bhed girl continued down the hallway, entering the room from a different hallway was the heavily armed and armored man, a smoldering cigar still clenched in his teeth. He sighed, lowering his gun and pulling the cigar out of his mouth. He hadn't heard anything from his companions in a while. "Did you two fall in or something?" he said into his radio, biting down on his cigar again. "Yeah. Apparently the only toilets here are for Ifrit." replied Ace. The man smiled. "I'm not getting anything over where I'm at. How are you guys doing?" he asked. Ironsight was the first to reply. "Nothing where I'm at." said the sniper. "Ditto." Ace chimed in. "We'll probably find something deeper in the temple. I'm gonna head in further." said the cigar-smoking man, walking down the hallway that Rikku had just gone down.

In another hall, Ace peered down another hallway, and standing further down it was a group of women, led by a man. The women were all dressed in dark pink uniforms, wearing a heart-shaped mask and carrying metal fans. The man leading them was tall and slender, carrying dual revolvers. Ace dashed back down the hall he had just come from and darted into a recess that sheltered a statue. As he went out of sight, the man and his female cohorts came to the intersection Ace had been hiding at. "Right." he spoke. "Fan out. We need to find that compartment and secure it for our Mistress. Keep in groups. You see encounter anything, call the rest of us in." The slender man waved his hand and the women dashed through the halls, not noticing a concealed Ace. The slender man walked back down the hallway he had come from, and as soon as the hallway was clear, Ace stepped out from his hiding place, gripping his pistol.

"Careful, guys." said Ace. "We were right about LeBlanc being here. She brought more people than expected." continued Ace as he walked back to his corner. "I just ran into that skinny henchman, and he had a lot of LeBlanc's.... uh.... members with him." Ace said as he peered around the corner again, the slender man out of sight. "Figures. She's 'in league' with that Nooj guy." responded Ironsight. Ace nodded. "Yeah. That one kinda surprised me." said Ace. The heavily-armed man spoke over the radio. "Hey, Ace," he said. "Which one is the skinny guy?" Ace pressed up against the wall, looking down either side of the hall he was in. "Uh... Logos, I think. Why does it matter?" responded Ace.

Farther in the temple, standing over the beaten bodies of a large man with a giant shield and at least half a dozen of female soldiers dressed in the same way as the ones deployed by the skinny man, was the heavily-armed man, who at the time held his cigar in one hand and held his rifle in the other, though was grabbing it by the stock. "Just knocked out Ormi." he replied. "You didn't kill him, did you?" asked Ace. "Nah. Just sent him off for a nap." replied the heavily armed man, who turned and walked down another hall. The heavily-armed man bit on his cigar again, saying, "One less thing to worry about." as his heavy footsteps announced his advance deeper into the hallways of the temple.

From behind a statue in the room where Ormi lay unconscious, Rikku slipped out. She was somewhat worried after seeing a single man take down Ormi and some of LeBlanc's cronies. As soon as she was sure that he was out of earshot, Rikku spoke on her radio. "Hey, Buddy. You ever hear of a guy wearing some heavy-duty armor and carrying enough guns to take on the Crusaders?" she asked, staying in the shadows. For a moment there was silence, but then Buddy responded. "Uh... I've heard rumors about some guys that wear this black combat armor. From what I hear, it's a trio of mercenaries, but the three of them are apparently highly skilled." Buddy answered. Rikku furrowed her brow. "That's kinda vague." she said. "Can't give me something solid?" said the Al Bhed girl as she looked down the hall that the heavily-armed man had gone down. "Well, the groups on the list don't fit the bill. I know who most of them are on there. Could be those guys snuck in without being hired." he said. "Why are you asking about this anyway? Did you see one?" asked Buddy. Rikku leaned against a wall, responding, "I just saw this monster of a man knock out Ormi and some of LeBlanc's goons with nothing more than his rifle butt." There was another silence on the radio. "All right. I'll see if I can't find out anything about these guys." he said.

Rikku looked down the hallway again. The large man was not there. Without another word, she dashed down the hall again. Rikku zig-zagged down a small network of halls before coming into a large domed room with a few hallway entrances. The walls were covered in runic carvings. Rikku looked around the well lit room, not seeing the heavily-armed man. As she turned her back, she heard a pair of heavy footsteps and turned around immediately. Standing across from her was the heavily-armed man, the cigar held in his teeth. Rikku held her daggers up, ready to fight. The man had his machine gun slung over his shoulder, looking back at Rikku. Neither said a word as the two looked at each other. Rikku was ready to strike at any moment, ready to explode at the first sight of movement. The heavily-armed man took his cigar out of his mouth. "Dibs." he said.

The Al Bhed girl flinched. "Uh.... What?" she retorted. The man pointed his cigar over a t a wall behind her. "I got here first. Dibs." the man repeated. Rikku wore a baffled expression on her face as she stood up straight, lowering her weapons. The man spoke into his radio. "Hey, Ace, I found what we're looking for. Think you guys can get to where I'm at?" he said. "En route." Ace replied. "En route." echoed Ironsight. Rikku paused. "Uh... You're not gonna fight me?" she asked. The man shook his head. "No. You're not going to fight me." he replied. The heavily-armed man took a puff of his cigar and let out a small billow of smoke. "I'm guessing that you saw what I did to Ormi and his groupies?" the man asked. Rikku nodded. "The only reason that I did that is because LeBlanc pisses me off. That and that walking turd Ormi got in the way of what I was doing." explained the man. Rikku, still bewildered, asked, "Then why am I not going to fight you?" The heavyily-armed man shrugged. "You wouldn't wanna end up like them, would you?" he said as he looked at the wall he had pointed at.

Rikku relented. If the rest of the Gullwings were here, this would be a different story, but the Al Bhed girl nodded, sheathing her daggers. "Paddan milg haqd desa." she mumbled. The man looked back at her. "Sorry about that." he said. "How about this: you can take our kills." Rikku tilted her head and looked back at the man. "What?" she asked. Over the radio, Ironsight yelled, "WHAT!?!" The man sighed. He spoke into his radio. "Hey, we still killed them, she's just taking credit for them. Not like we're getting paid for this anyway." the man reasoned. Ironsight didn't respond. "I'm almost there, Sarge." Ace said. The heavily-armed man nodded. Rikku looked over. "So, how many have you guys killed?" she asked. As Sarge was about to answer, footsteps could be heard. Sarge puffed his cigar and gripped his machine gun with one hand, reaching down to his leg where the canisters were. "Friends of yours?" said Rikku, looking down the hallway where the footsteps could be heard. Sarge shook his head, gripping one of the canisters in his hand. Taking this as a cue, Rikku drew her daggers. Coming into view was Ormi, flanked by Logos and multiple female goons. "That's him!" yelled Ormi pointing a finger at Sarge, standing a good distance away from he and Rikku. "That's the guy that got the drop on me!" Sarge shrugged. "That your excuse? Do I look like the kind of guy that needs to get the drop on anyone?" the heavily-armed man retorted.

"Speaking of 'drop'..." said Sarge. He tossed the canister at Ormi, who caught it without thinking about it. Ormi and Logos's eyes widened as Sarge held a small black detonator. Ormi dropped the canister as he, Logos, and their cronies turned, trying to flee. Sarge pressed down on the detonator. The canister exploded, collapsing the hallway that the LeBlanc Syndicate had come through. Rikku lowered her daggers and looked back at Sarge, who tossed his cigar butt to the side. The grinding of stone could be heard as the walls around them began to shift. Stone started falling from the ceiling, nearly hitting Rikku, who nimbly dodged. Ace entered the room. "Damn!" he exclaimed. Rikku dodged falling rocks, trying the make it to the other side of the room, not noticing where Sarge had gone. A large rock struck her in the shoulder and the Al Bhed girl fell to the floor. She looked up and saw another group of falling rocks bearing down on her.

* * *

Sarge groaned as he looked up at the ceiling. As the room began to collapse, he fell through a weak spot in the floor, which turned out to be a hidden stairwell. The heavily armed man stood up, many of his weapons missing. He had dropped his machine gun and the two weapons on his back had fallen off as he fell down the hidden staircase. However, his sawn-off shotgun was still present and strapped to his lower back. Sarge rolled his neck a bit and walked down the remaining staircase, which lead to a room which emanated a bluish glow. Upon entering the room, Sarge reached into a pouch on one of his bandoliers and drew out a cigar. As he was about to reach in again, he saw a pedestal in the center of the room with a small recess in it. Nestled in the recess was a red sphere, shimmering brightly. Littered around the room were runes which glowed blue, some of which trailed to the sphere. Sarge walked up to the pedestal and placed his hand on the sphere. He took hold and felt an intense warmth emanating from it. Sarge gripped the sphere and yanked it from the recess with little effort. The runes in the room lifted from the walls and were drawn into the sphere. The glowing rune no longer remained. Instead, the room was filled with a red light, centered on the sphere. Sarge nodded in approval. "Nifty." he said.

Behind Sarge, something began moving. With piercing red eyes, razor sharp teeth and claws, and long jagged horns, a beast in the shadows had its gaze fixed on Sarge. Sarge smiled. "Now to find a way out of here.... But I gotta get this cigar going first." he said. Sarge turned, holding the sphere in one hand and pointing his cigar at the beast. Sarge's smile widened into a grin. "How about it beastie? Got a light?"


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

* * *

Rikku groaned in pain. Amidst the dust, her breathing heavy as she was pinned to the ground by heavy rocks on top of her. It felt to her as though some of her bones were broken. She could hear voices nearby. "Come on. Help me out here!" said one. "Dammit, Sarge..." said another. Darkness filled her sight, but she could start seeing lights. The weight on her body lessened as rocks were removed. "Shit! There she is!" came the voice of Ace. Rikku was finally able to look up and saw two armored figures above her, both removing fallen stone from the Al Bhed girl. Ace sighed. "She's alive, good." said Ace. Ironsight looked around. "Ace, we need to leave... Now." he said, somewhat concerned.

Ace removed the last of the stones from Rikku and turned her over. He reached into a pouch on his bandolier and pulled out a small red bottle. Recognizing it as an elixir, Rikku leaned up as Ace poured the contents of the bottle into her mouth. The regenerative abilities of the concoction worked quickly, and seconds later, Rikku sprung back up. "Thanks for that." she said. Rikku looked around. The temple was starting to collapse. Her eyes scanned the room for any sign of Sarge and saw three different guns laying amongst a pile of fallen debris. Ace ran over and gathered them up. "We'll talk later." Ace said to Rikku. "Right now, we need to get the hell out of here." Ace continued, wrapping the guns together and strapping them on his back.

Without another word, the three turned and began running down the nearest hallway. Ace lead the group, sprinting with grace and easily navigating through the maze-like hallways. After constantly dodging falling debris the group made it to an exit, bursting out of the temple in a cloud of dust and into the brush of Kilika forest. The three fell to the ground, panting. Rikku sat up looking at the temple. Dust hung in the air over the temple that once stood proudly, now reduced to a gigantic heap of crumbled stone. Ace and Ironsight sat up as well, the glass on their helmets splitting in half and sliding to the side, allowing the two to breath some fresh air.

Ace sighed, gazing upon the ruined temple. "I wish I could say that this is the only time he's done something like this." he said. Ironsight chuckled. Rikku looked over at Ace. "Is... is he still alive?" "Oh yeah." Ace said, nodding. "It'd take more than a collapsed building to kill Sarge." he said. Ironsight shook his head. "Good god. How many does this make now?" he asked aloud. Ace turned his head to him, asking, "How many times he's destroyed a place of worship or how many times he's committed some sort of sacrilege?" Ironsight paused. Rikku seemed bewildered once again, looking at the two having a casual conversation on the topic of sacrilege.

The two armored men stood up, still looking at the temple. "Think he found it?" asked Ironsight. Ace shrugged. Rikku looked over. "Why would he lie about it?" she asked, standing up. "He probably didn't wanna fight you for some reason." replied Ironsight. Rikku looked down at the ground, puzzled. Then, her ears perked up. There was something in the bushes, creeping up on the three of them. Spinning around, Rikku drew her daggers, and readied herself in a fighting stance, looking back at the brush. She had noticed that Ace and Ironsight following suit. As they turned the glass on their helmets covered their faces once more. Ace drew both of his pistols and readied himself as Ironsight grabbed his sniper rifle and jumped back from the brush.

Rushing from the brush came a group of people, wearing rag-tag armor and carrying guns. Rikku didn't hesitate and rushed forward into the group, dodging gunfire from her attackers. As soon as she was within range, she let loose attacks with her daggers, becoming a whirlwind of blades. Ace returned fire with his pistols, some his bullets exploding into bursts of black magic. Ironsight wrecked havoc on the assailants dropping them with perfectly-placed shots, muttering an increasing number to himself as he felled each one.

After a few moments of battle, Rikku, Ace, and Ironsight were left standing. Ace looked around. "Huh... Who are these guys?" asked Ace. Rikku looked over one of the bodies. "I think these guys are the Canoneers." she replied. Ironsight looked over, saying, "Those dickheads who escaped from Bevelle?" Ironsight looked back down at the fallen attackers, shaking his head. "I'd have thought they would be stronger." he said. As soon as those words left his lips, a single gunshot was heard. A bullet struck Ironsight in the head and he fell to the ground, groaning. Ace readied his guns again. "Guess that was only part of the group." Ace said as Ironsight struggled to his feet. More rustling could be heard in the brush as Rikku began to back away, not wanting to catch gunfire from them. Ace followed suit backing up slowly.

Then, a sudden pounding could be heard. Rikku looked back. One of the walls of the temple that happened to still be standing budged, kicking up some dust. Another pound, more dust. Ace looked back just in time to see the wall burst apart as Sarge rushed through the stone. Sarge held a lit cigar in his teeth and his armor had noticeable char marks on it. Sarge looked at the bodies of the defeated Canoneers then at Ace. Ace nodded. Sarge looked at the brush and pulled another canister from the holster on his leg. "Hey, assholes! Catch!" he yelled, throwing the canister into the brush. A press of the detonator caused a large explosion, sending out cries from the brush.

Sarge nodded. "You guys all right?" he said, looking at Rikku, Ace, and Ironsight, who at this point was standing back up. Ace nodded, as did Rikku, but Ironsight didn't respond. "Thanks for taking my kills, Sarge." grumbled Ironsight. Sarge looked over at Rikku. "Sorry about the rocks." he said, Rikku shrugged. "It's all right. Least you drove away LeBlanc and her goons" she said. "Hope I can still take your bounties." she said, grinning. Ace nodded. "I think that's fair." he said.

"Rikku! Fryd'c kuehk uh tufh drana!?!" yelled a voice in her ear. Rikku wasn't sure how to reply to this question. Sarge began walking towards the other side of the temple. "Dra dasbma lummybcat." she replied. "Dra dasbma...... lummybcat?" responded Brother. Rikku couldn't tell if he didn't believed her or not. She shut off her radio just as Brother began yelled a stream of profanity. Rounding the corner, Rikku saw a vehicle, one that she was not familiar with. This one was a little over twenty feet long, nine feet wide, colored black, and had eight wheels. Mounted on the top of vehicle was a singular barrel, which Rikku deduced was a cannon. On the front was a windshield of sorts, revealing a driver's seat as well as a passenger's. The vehicle looked as though it could tread water with ease, given that the bottom was shaped very similar to a boat.

A mechanical whirring was heard as the back end of the vehicle opened up. A metal ramp touched the ground, and Sarge, Ace, and Ironsight walked into the vehicle. Rikku stared in awe. This wasn't a machine she had seen before, and she wanted to take it all in. After what seemed like minutes of looking, she heard Ace call to her. "Hey, you getting in? We need to get the hell out of here before anyone else gets here." he said. Rikku snapped from her stupor and ran around to the back, walking up the ramp. On either side of the walls in the vehicle were benches which looked as though they could be collapsed. Behind the benches were metal shutters of some sort. A trio of lockers were lined up next to the benches, each had a name posted on the door, one for "Ironsight", one for "Ace", and one for "Sarge". Rikku entered the vehicle and noticed that Ace and Ironsight had both taken their helmets off. Ace was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had his brown hair buzzed very short and had blue eyes. Ironsight had very well groomed, frosted hair, kept perfect even in his helmet. Ironsight looked slightly younger than Ace and had blue eyes. Their helmets were set next to them as they sat down on the bench. Sarge was up front in the driver's seat, fiddling with the controls. As soon as Rikku stepped in, the ramp of the vehicle began to pull up and the back began to close. "What is this?" asked Rikku. Ace looked at Rikku. "This is called a stryker." replied Ace, taking his holsters off. Ironsight set his sniper rifle down next to the bench. Ace leaned forward as Ironsight sat back. The vehicle started to move. Ace looked at Rikku. "Now that we're in a quiet place, Time for some introductions." said Ace, smiling.

"My name's Ace." he continued. Ironsight nodded. "I'm Ironsight." Ace looked up to the driver's seat. "And that's Sarge." he said. Sarge just waved his hand, concentrating on driving the stryker. Rikku nodded. "I'm Rikku." she said. The Al Bhed girl took her daggers out of their sheathes and set them at arms length on the bench. "So, who are you guys, exactly?" she asked. Ironsight tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling, muttering something to himself. Ace nodded. "Fair question." he replied Ace's smile widened. "We're the Deadboys." he said. Rikku nodded, then spoke. "I'm surprised I've never heard of you guys before. If Sarge is any indication of your abilities, you guys have gotta be pretty strong. You'd think that all of Spira would know who you were." said Rikku, still looking at Ace. Ace nodded. "We take pains not to be heard of, but with things like temples being destroyed, it makes our attempts at staying out of the limelight a little harder." said Ace. Ace pointed at Rikku. "How about you?" he asked. "Who might you be?" Rikku stretched out a bit. "Well, right now I'm kinda more of a mercenary more than anything. I used to be part of a sphere hunting group." she responded. Ace paused in contemplation, then looked back at Rikku. "Rikku... Were you one of the Gullwings?" asked Ace. Rikku nodded. Ironsight looked over at Rikku, asking, "You're the Al Bhed girl.... Cid's daughter, right?" commented Ironsight. Rikku furrowed her brow. "Yeah..." she replied. "You could say that..." Ironsight nodded. "You'd be one of Lady Yuna's guardians too, right?" asked Ace. Rikku nodded, somewhat impressed. "You're pretty well informed." she said. Ace shrugged. "Part of the job, if you will. Kind of a requirement to know famous figures and those they associate with." said Ace. He leaned back into his seat, adding, "For me, at least."

Rikku heard a voice in her ear. "Rikku, frana yna oui?" said Brother's voice. Rikku paued. "Oac. E's veha. E's sujehk yfyo vnus dra dasbma." replied the Al Bhed girl. "Frana yna fa belgehk oui ib? Yd dra tulgc?" Brother asked. Rikku shook her head. Rikku answered, "E tuh'd ghuf oad, pid E'mm damm oui frah E tu." "Roger." replied Brother. There was the sound of splashing water as the stryker shook slightly. Then, the vehicle stopped moving. Sarge stood up and walked back to the benches. "All right, guys. Look at what I picked up." he said, reaching up and prying open a compartment on his belt. A red light could be seen coming from the pouch, and it filled the stryker's interior with a red light. The orb shimmered and shone in Sarge's hand. The others stared in amazement. Moments later, Ironsight looked away from the sphere and up at Sarge. "What is it?" he asked. Sarge shrugged. "I followed a staircase that I found underneath the floor. Followed it there, and there was this. Had a wicked beast guarding it." Ace looked at Sarge. "That why your armor's charred like that?" he asked. Sarge nodded. "Long story short, he had a bad day." added the cigar-smoking man. Sarge looked at Rikku, who was studying the sphere. Sarge presented the glowing red orb to Rikku. "You know what this is?" he asked. Rikku took the shimmering sphere and stared at it in wonder. This sphere had no switches, buttons, knobs, nothing. It was a perfect sphere, appearing to be made with a fire-like blown glass. She quickly noticed however, that as soon as the orb was in her hand, the light shining from it dimmed.

Ironsight, Ace, and Sarge leaned forward, studying the sphere. Rikku shook her head. "I don't know. I've never seen a sphere like this." she said, wracking her brain for something that might explain the nature of this object of a little more. Then, she had a thought, something that made her smile. "I may not know what this is, but I might know someone who does." she said. Ace tilted his head. "A friend of yours?" Ace asked. Rikku nodded. "Yep!" she chirped. "Brother, fa haat du ku du Besaid!" she said into her communicator. Brother gasped. "Besaid? Dryd sayhc..." he began. Then, Brother cried out in joy. "Roger!" he yelled.

Rikku looked back at the trio of armored men and handed the sphere back to Sarge. Sarge took the sphere and smiled. "Looks like we're going for a ride in an airship, guys." said Ace. The three stood up. Sarge returned to the driver's seat and started up the stryker again. "Tell your friend to lock on to your signal." said Sarge. "There's a private little beach we can go for a pickup. We'll stash our wheels there as well." he continued.

* * *

Rikku hadn't been to Kilika often, but she was somewhat familiar with the landscape. Sarge had driven them to a remote beach by navigating through the tides with the stryker. This part of the island would be very difficult to reach though the jungle. This beach was a perfect hiding place. The Al Bhed girl was taking a moment to stretch out, taking a look at the tides. Behind her, a distance away, Sarge, Ace, and Ironsight had parked their vehicle in an alcove hidden by trees. The three of them walked out from the cover, having changed into "street clothes". Ace was wearing a pair of dark blue surfer shorts with leather sandals. He also wore a white muscle shirt and wrapped around his forehead was a white bandana. He still wore his holsters, carrying his twin pistols and ammo. Ironsight was dressed very fashionably, wearing a buttoned up emerald green tunic with gold embroidery. He wore a pair of brown slacks and a pair of leather boots. The sniper carried his rifle slung over his shoulder, though rather than a bandolier, he carried a canvas messenger bag. Sarge was wearing dark tan cargo pants, a plain white t-shirt, and a pair of black tank boots. He had a bandolier slung over his shoulder. Over his shirt, he was wearing a dark brown leather jacket that had the chevrons of a Master Sergeant on the upper left bicep. He carried the two heavy clip fed weapons that he had in the temple on his back via magnetic bars on his bandolier. He had his sawn off shotgun fastened to his lower back as he did in his armor and was wearing another holster of some sort under his jacket.

Ironsight stretched a bit, smiling and sighing. "Ah... feels good to get out of that armor once in a while." he said. Ace shrugged. "Can't really keep a low profile when we're wearing stuff like that." said Ace. He then looked at Sarge, who had pulled out his wick lighter and was incinerating the end of his cigar, puffing on it to produce the cherry. "Then again.... Walking around heavily armed is kinda suspicious too, isn't it, Sarge?" he asked. Ironsight looked over, noticing the holster Sarge was wearing. "Explosives? Really?" Ironsight groaned. Sarge snapped his lighter shut and looked at Ace and Ironsight. "Say the guys who are carrying backpacks of ammo." Sarge retorted. The three walked over to Rikku. "Besides," Sarge continued. "What we plan and what takes place aren't always similar" Ace chuckled. Ironsight looked at Ace. "What is the plan, anyway?" Ironsight asked. Rikku turned and faced the three, smiling. "We're going to Besaid to see Yuna." she said. Ace's face brightened up. "We get to meet Spira's savior? Interesting!" said Ace.

Rikku nodded. "We'll be getting a ride over to Besaid by airship and should be there later today." she explained. Sarge looked at Rikku. "You think she'll know anything about this sphere?" he asked. Rikku shrugged. "She might. If you found that in a temple, she might know something about it." As she spoke, the large red figure of the Celsius hovered into view from above. It got hovered near the beach and the doors to the cargo hold opened up. With the three men in tow, Rikku waded through the water and climbed aboard the Celsius. After the four were in, the doors closed and the airship rocketed it off into the sky.

* * *

The shimmering tides of Besaid lazily lapped at one of the quieter beaches. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the nearby trees, which swayed in time with the waters as they advanced further on top of the sand and drew back into the reefs. The beach had two occupants, at the moment. A young man and a young woman, laying on the sand underneath the shade of one of the trees. The man was on his back, with the woman curled up to him, her head resting on his chest. The man was wearing a pair of knee-length black overalls which had a red symbol on the right leg, a yellow, short-sleeved hoodie which had a blue sleeve for the left arm, and a pair of yellow boots with black soles and toes. He wore a forearm-length gauntlet on his left arm along with a blue pauldron. He had blonde feathered hair and blue eyes. The woman was wearing a white blouse with a black symbol on her chest and blue shorts. She wore a pair of blue boots that reached up just under her knees The woman had brown hair, styled in a similar fashion to the man's, and had a long braid, which was tied off with a pink ribbon, reaching down her back. Her left eye was blue, and her right eye is a green similar to Rikku's. The man had a bare hand on the woman's back. The two had their eyes closed, taking in the surroundings with their other senses and enjoying the time they were spending together.

"I like this spot." said Yuna. "It's always been nice and calm. A perfect place to rest after a long walk." Tidus nodded in agreement. "We've been coming here a lot lately, haven't we? No wonder." he said. Tidus opened his eyes and smiled. "I'm glad to know that there are some places that people don't know about. I kinda enjoy having these beaches to ourselves." said Tidus. Yuna nodded in agreement. "I think it's good that the village is growing a bit. A few new fresh faces is good around here, and I think a lot of the people around here appreciate new views. " she said. Tidus chuckled. "Just as long as they leave us to our walks and our private beaches, right?" Tidus asked. Yuna opened her eyes, looked up, smiled, and gave Tidus a quick kiss on the cheek. She nodded. "That's right." Yuna responded. The former summoner rested her head on her love's chest as Tidus began to stroke her hair.

"Hey, Yuna," began Tidus. Yuna looked up at Tidus as Tidus returned her gaze. "Do you ever miss it?" he asked. Yuna seemed puzzled. Tidus elaborated, saying, "I mean, the traveling, the adventuring, the whole, 'saving the world' thing. Do you ever miss it?" Yuna's eyes stared off into the distance as she snuggled up a little closer to Tidus. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it much." she replied. The former summoner turned her head toward Tidus. "Sometimes I do. I miss the comradery that we had when we were fighting against something. I miss the people that I had met on my travels. I miss my companions, most of all." said Yuna, images of her former guardians flashing through her mind. "And my time as one of the Gullwings was amazing as well." she continued. "Found some new friends and my lost love." she said, looking at Tidus, wearing a wide, gentle smile. Tidus smiled back at her. "Good to hear But I know that they've left that life behind, more or less." said Tidus. "They're all living out their dreams now. Lulu and Wakka have a kid, Khimari's running his tribe out of Mr. Gagazet..." Yuna chimed in, continuing with, "Rikku's diving for lost machina, and Paine has just been wandering Spira, seeing what's out there."

Tidus looked down at Yuna. "You keeping in touch with those two?" he asked. Yuna nodded. "Yes. We've been in touch constantly for the last couple months. It's good to know that even though we're distant, we're still together." she replied. Tidus smiled. "Really? Did you feel that way about me when I was gone?" the blitzball star asked. Yuna looked up and smiled. "I think you already know the answer to that question." she said, beaming. Tidus smiled back. "I think it's time to walk back to the village." said Tidus. Yuna pouted, saying, "Can't we stay like this a little longer?" Tidus laughed. "You said that like half an hour ago." he retorted. The two fell silent, lacing their hands together and sharing a gentle kiss as the wind lazily blew.

* * *

Rikku, Sarge, Ace, and Ironsight stood on the road leading into the village. "Looks like it's grown a bit since the last time I was here." she said. Rikku heard a voice over her radio. "Rikku, fa'na kuehk pylg du lummald uh dra puihdeac. Vydran ymcu fyhdc du caa sa. Femm oui pa ymm nekrd rana vun y frema?" asked Brother. Rikku grinned. "Uv luinca! E's kuehk du pa ypma du caa Yunie!" she responded. Brother responded, his voice carrying a hint of dismay and disappointment, "Cyo 're' du ran vun sa." Buddy added, "Say 'hi' to her for me too, Rikku." Rikku nodded. "E femm." she replied. The Celsius lifted off a began to flew towards the horizon.

As Rikku was speaking to Brother and Buddy, Sarge, Ace, and Ironsight were observing the village of Besaid. "So, this is Besaid, huh?" said Sarge, releasing a small puff of smoke from his mouth. Ironsight shrugged. "Doesn't look like much." he muttered. Ace looked at the two. "It's a simple village. It's grown a bit thanks to the former summoner." he said. Ace looked back down at the village. "If I remember correctly, they're most well known for fabrics and the like." Ace said. Sarge chuckled. "We'll keep that in mind if Ironsight decides to start taking up knitting." he said. Ironsight let out a forced laugh in response. "Still," continued Sarge. "Seems quiet enough. Not a bad place to live if you're looking to get away from it all, right?"

Rikku walked up behind the three men. "All right. Let's head down there!" she said, striking a pose. The three men turned and stared for a moment. Sarge removed his cigar from his mouth. "Anyone ever tell you you're like a basket of kittens?" he said. "Or ball of sunshine?" said Ironsight. "Or a kid who had too much sugar?" said Ace. Rikku giggled a bit and walked down the road. The three men followed her. Ironsight looked around as he was walking. "This place ever have problems with fiends?" he asked. Rikku shook her head. "Not really, actually. There are some fiends wandering around on the road from time to time, but they really aren't a problem." the Al Bhed girl replied. Ironsight was silent, somewhat disappointed.

"So, you're an Al Bhed, right?" asked Ace. Rikku turned and looked at Ace. "Yeah. Why do you ask?" she replied. Ace shrugged. "Just haven't met many, is all." Rikku looked confused. "Really? Then where did you get your guns?" she said, eyeing Ace's holstered handguns. "They're not like the stuff I've seen." she added. Ace smiled, looking Sarge. "You hear that, Sarge? She's eyeing our guns." he said. Sarge grinned. "Is that so, Ace?" Sarge responded. "Would you like to feel our guns, Rikku?" Sarge said, laughing. Rikku giggled. Ironsight chuckled slightly. "She can feel my gun all she wants. I've got the biggest gun here!" he proclaimed, gripping his sniper rifle. Sarge shook his head. "Size isn't everything, Ironsight." said Sarge, laughing.

The four kept walking for a few minutes, eventually arriving to the entrance of the village. It had retained the simple and somewhat rustic ambiance that it had when Yuna had left here on her pilgrimage. There were more tents and houses than Rikku remembered, however, and plenty of new faces. Rikku smiled as she entered the village. The three men behind her took in the surroundings as the Al Bhed girl scanned around the various faces for a familiar one. After having no luck she looked at the men behind her and smiled. "I'm going to look for people. You guys go ahead and hang around for a bit." she said. Before any of them could get a word out, Rikku darted away, further into the village. Sarge looked around. "Guess it'd be too much to ask if this place has a bar, huh?" said the cigar smoking man. Ace just smiled, then began walking away from his comrades to something that had caught his eye. Sarge and Ironsight looked at Ace, saw what he was walking toward, and then walked into a different direction.

Sitting out of direct view was a woman wearing a low-cut, fur-lined, black and grey dress with a series of interlocking belts on the lower portion of the dress. She had pale skin, and dark hair, which was tied back and then separated into multiple braids. In her arms, she held a baby who could've been no more than a year old. The baby was wrapped in what looked like a purple and yellow flower, and was gently being rocked. The child appeared to be asleep. Ace approached the woman who was sitting the shade and looked down at the child, smiling as he did. "You have a beautiful child." he said. The woman smiled at Ace. "Thank you." she replied. "What's his name?" asked Ace. The woman looked back down at her child. "His name's Vidina." she replied. Ace smiled. "Vidina? Heh. That's a nice name." Ace said. The woman nodded, saying, "He'll turn a year old here in a few weeks." Ace nodded. "Nothing like having kids, huh?" he said. The woman looked up at Ace, her smile growing wider. "What's your name?" she asked. "Ace." he replied. "Lulu." said the woman. "What brings you to our little village, Ace?" she asked. Ace shrugged. "Just looking for someone." he replied.

Sarge and Ironsight were walking further into the village. Sarge turned his head, looking over at a man wearing purple, red, and white clothing in addition to a grey head guard which revealed the bottom half of his face. The man turned his head to Sarge and Ironsight and began to walk over. "Ah, shit." groaned Sarge. Ironsight looked over and saw the man and sighed. "My name's Beclem." said the man as he got closer to Sarge and Ironsight. "Who are you two and why are you carrying around those weapons?" asked Beclem. Sarge and Ironsight looked at their weapons and then looked back at Beclem. "We don't like to get robbed." retorted Ironsight, grinning. Beclem shook his head. "You two planning on causing trouble?" he asked. The two laughed at Beclem. Sarge shook his head and looked at Beclem. "You never know where fiends will show up." Sarge said. Sarge turned his whole body towards Beclem and glared at the man. "Would you like to try and take our weapons?" said Sarge, grinning. Beclem flinched a bit. "C-Carry on." he said, turning around and walking away. Ironsight shook his head. "Can I shoot him in the back? Nobody'll have to know." he said. Sarge shook his head. "Not worth it. Besides, we cause trouble around here and we'll have Ace bitching at us." responded Sarge. Ironsight laughed. "Like that's ever stopped me before."

Not too far from Sarge and Ironsight, Rikku was dashing towards a man with orange hair, and single lock of which stood straight up and then curved back slightly. He was wearing yellow and blue clothing, leather sandals, a blue headband, and had an arm guard on his left arm. "Wakka!" yelled the Al Bhed girl. The man smiled, looking over. "Well! Look who it is!" he said, smiling. Rikku ran up and slapped hands with Wakka. "You haven't changed at all!" said Rikku. Wakka just smiled. "Neither have you, you know?" he responded. "How've you been, Rikku?" he asked. "Pretty good. How's Lulu and Vidina?" she said. Wakka smiled. "They're doing pretty well. Vidina's about to have his first birthday soon, ya? Lulu's excited." Wakka responded. Rikku smiled, nudging Wakka in the stomach with her elbow. "You're looking forward to it too, aren't ya?" she asked. Flustered, Wakka said, "Of course I am!" The two laughed a bit before Wakka looked at Rikku. "So, you're looking for Yuna, ya?" he asked. Rikku nodded. "Yeah. She around?" "Not sure." he responded. "I think she's out on another walk."

Rikku giggled. "Figures." she said. "Any idea when she'll be back?" asked the Al Bhed girl. After asking, she heard a woman's voice behind her call, "Rikku!" Rikku immediately recognized the voice and spun around. Into view came the familiar figures of Yuna and Tidus, both of which were waving at her while standing near the village's temple. Rikku ran from Wakka and jumped at Yuna as soon as she got within reach. The two hugged each other and laughed out loud as Tidus laughed with them. "Yunie! It's so good to see you again!" said Rikku. Yuna responded, "I know! It's been a while, hasn't it?" The two let go and Rikku smacked Tidus on the arm. "Good to see you too! Glad to see you're still around." Rikku said. Tidus smiled. "The ever-energetic Rikku." he said. "So, what have you been up to, Yunie? Spending quality time together?" she asked. Yuna giggled and her face went a little red. "Just enjoying my life here on Besaid. " she said. Tidus put his arm around Yuna and smiled. "Me too. I'm glad to be back here. I missed it." he said. Yuna looked at Rikku, the tone of her skin returning to normal. "How about you, Rikku? What have you been up to?" asked Yuna.

"Well, I've jut been working for my father a lot these days. On top of looking for lost technology, he'll throw me a job or two every once in a while." responded the Al Bhed girl. As she was about to continue, a scream could be heard. "Fiends!" yelled a voice. Immediately, Yuna, Tidus, and Rikku turned their heads to the entrance of the village, and could see a countless number of local fiends rushing down the road. "What the..." began Tidus. Yuna's smile disappeared. "What in the world is that?" she spoke. The voice of Beclem could be heard. "Get everyone to the temple! Anyone who can fight better grab a weapon! We need to drive these beasts from the village! Protect those who cannot protect themselves!" Tidus and Yuna immediately took off towards their tent, which wasn't very far from where they were. As soon as they got in, they opened a small armoire and reached in.

People began to rush towards the temple, fleeing into the safety of the stone walls. Ace looked back, and saw people running. His smile faded. Lulu stood up. "What's happening?" asked Lulu. Ace drew one of his handguns and looked back at Lulu. "I think the village is being attacked." responded Ace looking towards the entrance of the village. Ace spoke into his radio. "Sarge, Ironsight, looks like we've got some local color occurring here." he said. Sarge laughed over the radio. "Awesome. I was itching for a bit of action." responded Sarge. "I'm moving to a perch." said Ironsight. Ace looked back at Lulu. "We should get you and your child to safety." he said. Lulu smiled. "I think you for your concern, but I'm very capable of defending myself." she responded. Ace nodded. "I'd just like to make sure." he said. Lulu nodded as Ace looked back out. "Come on. We should move." said Ace.

Lulu and Ace moved out into the village, moving towards the temple. Lulu moved in front of Ace, who was watching behind them as they moved. He saw a small group of bird-like fiends pursuing overhead. Ace aimed up with his pistol and fired a barrage of bullets which crackled with lightning. Upon striking the fiends, the bullets exploded in a cloud of bolts of electricity. The electricity coursed through the bodies of the fiends before the small group disappeared in a cloud of pyreflies. Up ahead, Wakka could be seen. As soon as he saw Lulu, Wakka rushed towards them, throwing a blue ball behind Ace, striking a fiend. "Lu!" he called as he got closer. Ace turned around, making sure no other fiends were approaching them. Wakka put his arms around his wife and child. "I'm glad you're safe." he said. Wakka called out to Ace. "Hey... Thanks, brudda." he said. Ace looked back and smiled. "I'm glad I could help." he said. Ace looked back at the town entrance as Wakka and Lulu fled to the temple. Ace spoke into his radio. "Ironsight, cover the entrance to the village. Sarge, engage advancing fiends closer to the temple. We'll leave the local guard as the last line of defense. I'm heading back to the temple to assist them with the civilians."

A series of gunshots could be heard as fiends near the entrance to the village began to fall, a single bullet penetrating through them. "You got it, Ace." said Sarge. Ace turned and bolted back towards the temple, his feet carrying him with the speed of winds back towards the people running into the temple. As he ran back, Sarge advanced forward, a shotgun held in his right hand. Sarge shot multiple times, not using the pump on the shotgun between shots. Each time he fired, a fiend would fall to the ground, knocked back from where it was originally was before dispersing into pyreflies. Sarge drew his other shotgun and held one in either hand as he stared down the fiends that made it past Ironsight's bullets. Grinning, Sarge said into his radio, "Let's go, Deadboys."

* * *

Character Profile -

Rikku -

"I'm glad I never travel alone." -Rikku

Class - Thief / Alchemist

Weapon - Twin Daggers - "Machina Fangs"

Overdrive - Machinations

Mix

Machina Maw

Slice and Dice

Yuna's cousin and former guardian, the spunky Al Bhed girl has been spending her time underwater, searching for more and more sunken technology. Occasionally, she takes a break from the hunts and takes a job above ground. In doing so, she's become a seasoned treasure hunter and a big name in the world of swords for hire though the demand may be low.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

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Ironsight lay on the top of Besaid's temple, his sniper rifle set with the stand out. He fired bullet after bullet in quick succession, felling one fiend after the next, sounding off an ever increasing number in his head. After every twelve shots, the sniper would drop an empty clip from the sniper rifle and would have a full one loaded and ready to go as the now empty magazine could hit the stone he was laying on. His right eye gazing though a scope, the crosshair setting on one fiend for no more than a few seconds before a shot was fired and the sniper moved to his next target. The few fiends that had made it past Ironsight's attacks encountered Sarge. The large man wielded his twin shotguns with great ease, blasting apart any fiend that he saw. Occasionally, one would attempt to pounce on Sarge and bring him down. They were met with a powerful blow from one of Sarge's fists, sending the fiend back to the ground and into a cluster of pyreflies. Behind Sarge, Besaid's temple was being filled with the civilians seeking refuge. Beclem barked orders to his soldiers who were dealing with the rare fiends that miraculously made it past Ironsight and Sarge. In the vicinity were Rikku, Yuna, and Tidus, the latter two of which were armed. Yuna now had on her half-skirt and utility belt, carrying ammo and a second pistol identical to the one she was holding in her hands. Tidus held his blue-bladed sword in his right hand, ready to cut down any fiend. Alongside them was Wakka and Ace. Wakka made sure those who needed to get into the temple got in, and Ace stood silently, observing the situation as it unfolded, one pistol gripped in his hands.

Tidus watched in awe as Sarge and Ironsight destroyed a majority of the village's attackers. "Holy crap..." muttered Tidus. The blitzball star looked over at Ace, who was watching as the few fiends that approached the temple were dealt with by Beclem and a group of fighters. Ace caught Tidus's gaze out of the corner of his eye and looked over. "Those guys are... something else." commented Tidus. Ace shrugged. Tidus continued, asking, "So, what are you? Their handler?" Ace chuckled looking back towards the entrance of the village. "Eh... You could say that. I'm more.... the guy who makes the plans." Ace replied, smiling. Rikku looked over at Ace. "So, what does that make this little group of ours?" she asked. "The last line of defense." replied Ace, looking over at Rikku. "I wouldn't worry about it, though. As long as those two are still going, we should be able to fight off the rest of those beasts." Ace continued. Yuna nodded. "We've got all of the villagers in the temple, so we don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt." said Yuna. Ace looked over at Yuna then back towards the entrance to village. "We shouldn't have to worry about anything right now." said Ace. "But, part of my job is to keep on my toes. I suggest that you all do the same, because you never know what may happen in a fight." Ace added.

Wakka, while holding his blitzball under his arm, looked at Ace. "You sound like you've been in a lot of fights, brudda." commented Wakka. Ace smiled. "More than most. I've had experience as a soldier and as a pilot. My expertise though is strategy." said Ace. "I've lead plenty of troops into a fight, so I know my way around the war room, so to say." he added. Yuna looked over, impressed. "You've lead troops before? Wow. You must be very skilled for someone your age." she said. Ace chuckled slightly. "I must say, though. It is an honor to defend this place with a legendary summoner and three of her guardians." said Ace. Yuna smiled. "Nice to think that there are still people out there that think highly of me." she commented. Ace chuckled. "Seems to me that you've left that life behind you, though. I can understand that." said Ace, watching Sarge and Ironsight wreck havoc on the advancing fiends. "There's only so long that people can live a life of adventure." After saying that, Ace looked over at Sarge. "Then again, there are certain exceptions." he added.

Beclem looked back at Ace, Yuna, and her companions. He scoffed. "Lady Yuna, why aren't you defending your home with the rest of us?" he asked as he slew a fiend. Before Yuna had a chance to respond, Ace interrupted. "Would you shut the hell up?" Ace snapped, looking at Beclem Beclem shot a glare at Ace. "Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?" he retorted to Ace. Ace shook his head. "Someone who knows well enough not to talk to a savior the way you did." Ace replied. "I think if anyone here has the right to do so, Lady Yuna has the right to be lazy. Especially after saving worthless assholes like yourself." continued Ace. Beclem growled. "We'll settle this later." he said. Ace smiled, saying, "I look forward to it." Beclem walked back up to the local militia defending the temple as Ace shook his head. "I'm guessing he has a decent amount of clot in this village." he asked, turning towards Yuna and Wakka. Wakka scoffed. "More than he should have, brudda." Wakka responded. Ace shook his head, looking disappointed as he did so. Yuna looked over at Ace. "Um... You didn't need to do that. I don't even know your name." she said. Ace shook his head, smiling. "Maybe not, but people such as yourself and your guardians deserve a certain amount of respect." Ace responded. He turned his head towards the entrance of the village, seeing Sarge still battling a wave of fiends. "We'll introduce ourselves a little later, just as soon as we get done with these invaders." said Ace. "Sarge," he said into his radio. "Anyway we can end this soon? I'm betting-"

Before Ace was able to finish his sentence, he caught motion out of the corner of his eye. With lightning-quick reflexes, he spun and shot his handgun, penetrating a canine-like fiend in the head with a single bullet. He looked around the nearby brush and could hear rustling in the bushes. Tidus, Wakka, Rikku, and Yuna tensed up, ready for battle. "Damn!" cursed Ace as fiends began to creep out from the foliage surrounding the temple. Ace drew his second pistol, saying into his radio, "Sarge! The temple's surrounded! We've got a lot of contacts here!" Ace began firing on the fiends around the temple, as did Yuna. Wakka bounced his blitzball off of multiple fiends, repelling as many as he could. Tidus jumped down from the steps of the temple and charged a nearby fiend, showing his opponent that his swordsmanship had not decayed. Rikku leapt down with Tidus and attacked the advancing fiends with strikes from her daggers and occasional well placed kicks.

Sarge looked back and saw a swarm of fiends around the temple. He slung one of his shotguns over his shoulder and reached under his jacket with his free hand, drawing out two grenades. Putting the pins of both in his mouth, he yanked the grenades away from his mouth, leaving the metal pins clenched in his teeth. He then turned and launched the grenades at the entrance to the village, causing two large explosions and killing multiple fiends. "Alright, Ace. I'm coming." he said calmly as he ran back towards the temple, spitting the pins of the grenades on to the ground. The explosions caused a small lull in the waves. Ironsight observed the destruction and could see more fiends coming from the hill overlooking the village. Ironsight gritted his teeth. "Calling for Sarge in a time of need?" he muttered. "Well... I'm here too!" As those words left his mouth, everything around Ironsight began to slow down while he sped up. He could see fiends charging towards the village through the smoke left from the explosions. After the next wave of fiends began to appear, Ironsight began to fire, his rate of fire dramatically increased compared to earlier in the battle. Fiend after fiend fell from a single bullet as Ironsight rained down hell from on top of the temple.

The sword Brotherhood carved through Tidus's enemies as he fought next to Wakka. "Just like old times, right Wakka?" he said in between swings of his sword. Wakka couldn't help but smile. "That's right, brudda!" he said as he caught his blitzball, which had just bounced back from a bird-like fiend. Gunshots from four handguns came from the temple steps as Ace and Yuna defended from a distance. Rikku slashed through a lizard-like fiend, breathing heavily as she resumed a fighting stance. "Haven't had a workout like this in a while." she said. The melee halted as Ace shot down a flying fiend. The five looked around the temple steps and saw more and more appear from under the brush nearby. As they began to engage in combat again, something charged from out of the bushes. Leaping out of the trees, Sarge landed on a canine-like fiend, crushing it underneath his feet. Pulling out his shotguns, a chain of distinct "booms" rang out as Sarge took out multiple fiends in mere seconds. Ace, Tidus, Wakka, Rikku, and Yuna ran over to the other side of the temple and engaged the fiends there. Not far from them, Beclem and the village's militia combated the fiend that had made it past Ironsight.

Beclem saw a shadow spread on the ground. He looked up and saw a gigantic, grotesque bird. It let out a shriek as it swooped down upon Beclem and the militia. The militia ran past Beclem as the warrior ushered them back to the temple. Standing amongst pyreflies, Sarge saw the bird and grinned. "I've got the garuda." he said into his radio as he began to walk towards the fiend, putting his shotguns back on his back as he reached for his sawn-off. The garuda landed down on the ground and shrieked towards the temple. Sarge shook his head. "Hey! I'm over here!" he yelled, aiming his gun at the fiend. No more than ten feet away, Sarge pulled the trigger of his gun, firing both barrels. The sound from this gun was more like that of a cannon being fired than a shotgun. Two shotgun slugs grazed the garuda's head as it cried out. Sarge broke open the shotgun, ejecting the shells of both barrels and replacing them before flicking his wrist and snapping the shotgun closed. The garuda turned its gaze on Sarge and let out another shriek. Sarge grinned. "Oh? Hungry?" he mocked. Sarge ran at the garuda. The garuda tried pecking at Sarge, who dodged the attacks. Sarge ran under it's body, punching it in the gut with his left hand. The impact of Sarge's fist robbed the garuda of any air that it had in its lungs as it let out a very odd gasping noise. Sarge kept low, ducking under its tail. He spun around and jumped on the garuda's back.

The fiends around the temple were no more. Ace looked on as Sarge assaulted the garuda, as did those near him. The garuda began to shake violently, trying to get this assailant off its back. Sarge reached the head of the garuda. His left hand gripping the feathers near the neck, Sarge pulled his right hand up, gripping his sawn-off shotgun. Another thunderous boom rang out as Sarge fired his gun, sending two shotgun slugs ripping through the neck of the garuda. The fiend reared back, shrieking again. Seizing the opportunity, Sarge holstered his sawn-off shotgun and drew a canister from under his jacket. He hoisted himself up to the fiend's head and jammed the canister into it's mouth, pulling his hand out of the way just before the garuda snapped its mouth shut. Sarge clamped his hands on the fiend's beak. The fiend struggled against Sarge's grasp before swallowing the canister. Sarge punched the fiend in the head before dropping down to the ground and stepping away. The garuda, turned its head towards Sarge, who was now holding a detonator. The fiend was allowed one final shriek before Sarge pressed his thumb down on the detonator. The garuda exploded in a cloud of pyreflies, which drifted off into the skies.

Sarge looked back at the entrance of the village, glaring at the few fiends remaining. At this time, Ironsight's perception of the world had sped back up. He was a little winded but no worse for wear. Sarge grinned at the fiends, who spun around and dashed back into the wilderness. The heavily armed man chuckled to himself. "I think they're all gone, Ace." Sarge said into his radio. Ace nodded. "I can see that. Good job, guys." replied Ace, holstering his pistols. Tidus looked over at Ace. "Wow. You guys do good work." he said in amazement. Wakka nodded, still looking over at Sarge. "Ya. I haven't seen anyone handle a fiend like that guy did." Wakka commented. Ace smiled. Ironsight began to move from his perch, gathering all of the empty clips scattered around him and putting them back into his messenger bag. Sarge walked up to the group at the temple and drew a cigar from his jacket, as well as his wick lighter, which was a moss green with the chevrons of a master sergeant on it. "You guys are easily impressed." Sarge said to the group at the temple. Ace laughed at this, then looked over at the residents of Besaid. "I guess that means we should introduce ourselves." he said.

Sarge clenched the cigar in his teeth and flicked the flint of his wick lighter, setting the wick aflame. Then, from inside the temple, screaming could be heard. All eyes, but Ironsight's turned to the temple. Ace, with a concerned tone in his voice asked, "Sarge?" Sarge snapped his lighter shut and put both it and the cigar back in his jacket. The villagers who had sought out refuge in the temple were now pouring out from the door, fleeing for their lives. Those on the temple steps stood ready for whatever was going to follow the villagers, their weapons drawn. Ironsight saw people running back out into the village. "What the hell's going on down there?" asked Ironsight, speaking into his radio. As the last of the villagers fled, the temple began to shake as though something was pounding at the walls trying to get out. As Ironsight was climbing down, the shaking loosened his grip on the stone. With one hand still grasping the stone, his gun on his back. Ace looked up. "You all right?" he yelled up, seeing Ironsight dangling from the wall. Ironsight nodded, trying to get his footing back. As he did, the stone shook again, knocking the sniper from the wall and sending him to the ground, Ironsight landed on his stomach, being careful not to land on his gun. Groaning for a moment, Ironsight stood up and looked back at the temple, which was now violently shaking, parts of the walls falling off. Ace, looked up towards the temple, then began to cautiously back away from the temple. "I think we should get away from here... It looks like this place is about to come down." he said, drawing both of his pistols. Slowly, the others began to do the same. In the distance, Beclem could be heard shouting at the militia to protect the villagers.

With one more powerful push, the temple began to crumble, and something flew from the stone and into the sky. It was a magnificent creature with leathery wings and feathers on its back and neck. It had avian features, including a beak and feet with razor sharp talons. Adorning the creature's wings and body were multiple golden rings. From the creature's emergence, the temple crumbled, showering the temple steps with chunks of stone. Those on the steps attempted to dodge the falling debris. Sarge was clear of the debris, and Ace was able to dive out of the way. However, the others were not so fortunate, as they were showered with the stone chunks. Yuna and Tidus lay next to each other, pulling themselves from the wreckage. Wakka stood up after being struck with the falling stone and began to move towards the villagers. Rikku groaned, laying on the ground. "Not again." she muttered. Ironsight lay amongst the stone before pulling himself up again. The creature wailed out as it hovered over the temple. Sarge and Ace looked up at the creature. "What the hell is that?" asked Ace, raising his pistols up and aiming at the creature. Sarge shook his head and followed suit. "Nothing friendly." he responded. The two opened fire on the creature, hitting it with bullets and shotgun slugs.

The creature let out a shriek of pain. Yuna heard the cry and looked up. Gazing upon the creature, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. Tidus looked up as well and had a similar reaction to Yuna's. He spoke, saying, "Yuna., is that-" "Valefor" Yuna said, cutting off Tidus. Valefor cried out in pain as Ace and Sarge shot the Aeon repeatedly. It beat its wings and began to fly, circling around Ace and Sarge, who were backing away from the temple into the center of the village, which was devoid of any villagers. Valefor screeched as it was struck with bullet after bullet fired by Sarge and Ace. It flew farther away from the two before spinning around and going into a dive. Ace and Sarge reloaded their firearms, dropping four clips on the ground and speedily replacing them with loaded ones. Sarge and Ace continued firing as Valefor drew closer, raising its talons and preparing to snatch them up. In the split second before it could, Sarge launched himself to the side and slammed into Ace, flinging Ace to the side as Sarge was grabbed by Valefor. Ace looked up as Valefor flew back up into the sky, trying to see what happened to Sarge. After gaining his bearings, Sarge aimed his shotguns at Valefor. Valefor, however, saw this and shook Sarge violently. Sarge kept his guns in his grasp however, and tried to aim as Valefor shook him. Seeing that this wasn't working, Valefor lifted Sarge up slightly and pecked at him.

Immediately, Sarge dropped his shotguns and grabbed the aeon's beak. Sarge pushed the beak to the side and began to wail on the beast with his bare hands, managing to land a punch to the aeon's eye. "You want something to eat too?" said Sarge. Valefor reared back, preparing to peck at Sarge again. Seeing this opportunity, Sarge reached up as far as he could and punched the aeon in the throat with a quick jab. Valefor hovered in the air, gagging. Sarge quickly reached back and drew his sawn-off shotgun in his right hand. Valefor's gaze returned to Sarge and it pecked at Sarge again. Sarge swung at Valefor and connected with a left hook to the aeon's head, diverting the aeon's attack. The aeon dropped a bit, dazed from Sarge's punch. Sarge aimed his sawn-off shotgun at Valefor's head and fired, a thunderous boom preceding two slugs striking Valefor The aeon shrieked in pain again. Tidus and Yuna stood up. "Yuna. What is Valefor doing here? I thought the aeons were gone!" he said. Yuna shook her head. "I don't know..." she replied. Rikku looked up. "Whoa!" she exclaimed upon seeing Valefor. Ironsight looked up and drew his rifle. Taking aim, he saw Sarge in the creature's grasp and lowered his gun, gritting his teeth. "Dammit..." he grunted. Ace looked over at Ironsight, who took aim again and rested his finger on the trigger, waiting for the right moment.

Valefor began to fly up higher as Sarge lashed out on whatever he could reach with his bare hands. Sarge struck the aeon with fist after fist, but Valefor would not loosen its grasp. Ace shook his head as he looked up at the sight, grimacing as he did. "That's... really high up." he said. Ace turned his head to Ironsight who still had his gun aimed at the aeon. "Think you could make the shot?" Ace asked. Ironsight remained silent, studying his target. Yuna, Rikku, and Tidus watched along. Rikku swallowed a lump in her throat. "That's not gonna end well for either of them." she said. Ace looked over at Rikku and then back up at Valefor. "I wouldn't be so sure. A fall from that high might hurt him, but it won't kill him." he responded. Yuna and Tidus remained silent as they took in the spectacle. Sarge buried his fist in the creature's body another time, striking it just below its breast. Valefor gasped for air dropping in altitude slightly, waving its head to the side. A single gunshot rang out as Ironsight pulled the trigger, shooting Valefor in the head. Valefor screeched and let go of Sarge, who began to plummet down to a wooded area relatively close to the village. Sarge landed in the trees with a crash, some of the local birds scattering as he did. Valefor ignored its dropped prey and turned its gaze on Yuna. It let out a screech and then reared its head back, a glowing orb of energy in its beak.

"Move!" yelled Yuna. The group scattered quickly as Valefor shot a beam of energy which traveled up the center of the village. After Valefor stopped shooting the beam, the line which the beam drew let out a large explosion, showering the housing to the side with dirt and rocks. Ironsight, Yuna, and Ace rushed back out into the center and opened fire on Valefor. Valefor beat its wings and began to fly again, circling around and diving again. The aeon brought forth its talons ready to snatch up two of its three attackers. As Valefor drew closer, someone rushed out from the sides. As the two crossed paths, a flash of steel and a shriek from Valefor indicated that the aeon had been attacked. Valefor flew up as far as it could, nearly ramming into the ruins of the temple. Yuna looked back at the person who had attacked Valefor. It was a woman, slightly taller than Yuna herself. She had red eyes and short silver hair. Her outfit was one of black leather and metal. It exposed her midriff and the upper part of her torso and included a pair of heeled boots, a red belt adorned with small metal trinkets, and elbow-length gloves. Around her neck, the woman wore a black choker and a barbed wire necklace that had a pendant of sort hanging from it. Gripped in her hands was a black sword with a shining silver edge. Carved at the base of the blade was a skull surrounded by swords. Yuna couldn't help but smile as she immediately recognized her friend. "Paine!" she yelled. Rikku's eyes widened, as did her smile. Paine shot a faint smile at Yuna and Rikku, then looked up at Valefor, her smile fading. "Looks like we've got to put this thing down again." she said. Ace nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We're not sure how to do it, though." commented Ace as Valefor began to circle around again.

Yuna looked up. "Here she comes!" she yelled as Valefor went into another dive. "Try to ground her!" said Ace as he and Ironsight let loose another barrage of fire from his pistols, firing at Valefor's wings. Seeing this, Yuna followed suit and aimed for the wings. Rikku, Tidus, and Paine readied themselves, waiting to strike at the aeon should it come within their reach. Valefor drew closer, and its speed had not reduced. The group on the ground dove out of the way as Valefor swept down upon them, grasping for someone it could reach. Its efforts were in vain, as Yuna and company had all avoided their winged assailant. Valefor turned around in mid-air flapping its wings and hovering slightly above the ground. Yuna studied Valefor as she and her comrades stood up. The aeon was covered with wounds, though it didn't seem too affected by it. Ace aimed his pistols at Valefor immediately. "Wait." said Yuna. Ace looked at her then looked back at the aeon. Tidus looked over at his lover. "Yuna?" he asked. Yuna walked a bit closer to Valefor, studying the aeon. Valefor let out a screech as Yuna drew closer, stopping her in her tracks. "She's.... she's in pain." Yuna said. Ace scoffed, saying, "Anything that gets punched by Sarge usually is." Valefor and Yuna made eye contact for one brief moment, and the aeon then beat its wings again and flew over the temple, towards the nearby edge of the island.

Tidus looked over at Yuna. "Yuna, what should we do?" he asked. Yuna looked up at Valefor. "I know what must be done." she said. Yuna reached into a pouch on her belt, drawing out a white sphere. Tidus looked in confusion, but Rikku recognized it, saying "That's..." The Al Bhed girl trailed off as a white light enveloped Yuna. Yuna floated above the ground, covered in white light. A giant purple, red, and yellow flower bloomed behind her as she reappeared, her clothing replaced with white garments. Three blue orbs floated over he head as she looked up at Valefor. "Floral Fallal." she said. The three orbs glowed and fired off a barrage of glowing balls of energy, each a different color. The barrage swarmed Valefor, who began to shriek in pain again as it was struck with magic attacks of all elements. Fire, lightning, water, and ice all struck the aeon. After the last of the balls struck Valefor, the aeon began to fall out into the ocean, dispersing into a cloud of pyreflies as it fell, disappearing completely before it hit the water.

A flash of light returned Yuna to her previous attire. The flower and orbs had vanished, and Yuna was on the ground, on her knees, breathing heavily. Tidus dropped his sword and rushed to Yuna's side, dropping to his knees and putting his arms around her. "Yuna? Are you all right? What was that?" he asked. Yuna simply smiled. Paine and Rikku looked at each other. "Good to see you, Dr. P!" she chirped, grinning. Paine shook her head, a slight smile spreading across her lips. "Good to see some things never change." she said. Ace holstered his pistols and spoke into his radio. "Sarge, you still there?" Ace asked. Sarge replied, "I think I've got a splinter... or ten. Where's that flying thing?" "Yuna managed to take it down." replied Ace, looking over at Yuna and Tidus. "All right. On my way to the village." said Sarge. Ironsight stretched a bit. "That was a nice little skirmish." he commented, walking towards the temple. "Shame that had to happen, though." he said, looking over the ruins of the temple. As he looked over the debris, he saw a small glimmer coming from something nestled in the stone. Not saying anything, Ironsight slung his gun onto his back and stepped onto the debris, moving a bit farther before he began to toss small chunks of stone to the side. Ace caught movement in the corner of his eye and looked over to see Ironsight digging through rubble. He climbed up the debris to where Ironsight was, saying, "Find something?" Hearing this, Rikku and Paine looked over to the sight and watched as the two men dug through the temple ruins.

The villagers began to filter out from their cover from the standing houses still in the village. They were looking around, most of them dazed from the ordeal. Wakka walked out towards Yuna, seeing her on the ground with Tidus beside her. "Whoa. You two okay?" he asked. Yuna nodded. "I... just haven't fought like that in a while." she responded, slightly winded. Tidus, though not breathing as heavily as Yuna, was slightly fatigued as well. " Yeah. We haven't had a lot of battles like that since Yuna was on her pilgrimage." Tidus said, still clinging to Yuna. She began to rise to her feet, and Tidus followed suit. Wakka nodded. "True. Looks like we're going a little soft around here, ya?" he said, smiling. The three couldn't help but chuckle to themselves. From the emerging villagers walked out Lulu, still clutching Vidina. Wakka saw her and rushed over. "Lu, you all right?" he asked. Paine and Rikku watched as Yuna and Tidus recovered, smiling. Rikku looked over at Paine. "So, Paine, what brought you to Besaid? Going to see Yunie?" she asked. Paine nodded. "Yeah." she responded. Paine looked away from Rikku, to which the Al Bhed girl giggled and playfully tapped Paine on her upper left arm. From the village entrance sauntered Sarge, no worse for wear with no visible wounds on his body. He held an unlit cigar in his teeth as he drew out his wick lighter. Sarge flipped open the top and struck the flint, igniting the wick with a spark. Sarge held the flame up to the end of his cigar and took a few puffs, lighting the cigar. Sarge let out a few puffs of smoke before he flicked his wrist, snapping the lighter shut. He looked past the others in the center of the village and to the ruins of the temple. He laughed aloud, saying, "I thought I was the only one who did the heavy lifting."

Ace and Ironsight couldn't hear Sarge's remark. Ironsight suddenly thrust his hand into the rubble and yanked out a teal colored sphere. The sphere let out a dull glow as Ironsight held it. "Found another one." said Ironsight, looking over at Ace. Ace nodded then looked back at Sarge. Ironsight and Ace walked towards the group in the center of the village. As they drew closer, Beclem walked out from the housing, somewhat flustered. "All right. Now that's been taken care of." he grumbled. Beclem walked up to Ace, leaving only inches of distance between the two. "Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?" he demanded. Ace shook his head. "We were in the neighborhood and thought the people of the village could use some help." responded Ace. Ace stared at Beclem, asking, "Who are you to talk to Lady Yuna like you did?" A stern expression spread on Beclem's face. "I'm the one who has turned the blitzball team and any others I could find into decent warriors." responded Beclem. Sarge looked around. "We can give him that, Ace." said Sarge. He then added, "Despite the fact that this man is disrespectful bastard." Beclem turned, glaring at Sarge. Wakka looked over at Beclem. "Hey, brudda, you should back off a bit, ya? These strangers helped defend our village." he said Beclem scoffed. "We're strong enough that we don't need the assistance of a mindless grunt, a sub-par tactician, and a mediocre sharpshooter." he said, pointing at Sarge, Ace, and Ironsight respectively. Sarge shook his head, as did Ace, but Ironsight wore a look of shock upon hearing this. Beclem turned to look back at Ace, but was startled as he heard a single gunshot ring out into the air. Beclem's headgear flew off to the side as he stumbled. The villagers jumped at the sound and sight. Beclem frantically looked around and was met by Ironsight, who swung his leg back and swung it forward, kicking Beclem in the groin with all his might. Beclem screamed in pain as he immediately dropped to his knees. Ironsight tossed up his sniper rifle, spinning it in mid-air and catching the barrel in both hands. Then, swinging his rifle like a golf club, smashed Beclem in the face with butt of his rifle. Beclem fell backwards, unconscious as he hit the ground. Ironsight spun his gun around and held it properly. Ironsight looked at Ace and Sarge, then walked away, not saying a word to anyone. All eyes were on the unconscious Beclem. Finally, Ace broke the silence. He looked at Sarge and said, "That's something I'd expect from you, Sarge." "That's something I wanted to do, Ace." replied Sarge. The residents of Besaid remained silent upon viewing the spectacle. Rikku and Paine remained silent as well.

Yuna looked up at the temple and sighed. Tidus looked up as well. "That thing got completely destroyed." said Tidus. Yuna walked up to the temple steps and looked over the rubble. Though it was a symbol of a religion that wasn't practiced anymore, it was where Yuna had began her pilgrimage to become a summoner. This was where she obtained her first aeon, and where she met her love. Tidus walked up next to her and looked at the rubble, then laced his hand with hers. Ace broke the silence again. "So... uh... is there any place we can sit down for a bit?" he said.

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The village of Besaid had become lively once more. On the steps of the now ruined temple sat Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Sarge, Ironsight, and Ace. Sarge was still chewing on cigar, Ironsight was looking out towards the waters, and Ace was sitting down, holding the orb that Ironsight had recovered from the rubble. Sitting around them were Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, and Paine, all of who had recovered from the fatigue induced by the battle. Sarge, Ace, and Ironsight however, showed no signs of fatigue at all. Ace looked at Yuna, Tidus, Rikku and Paine and smiled. "So, allow me to make some introductions." he said. "My name's Ace, this is Sarge, and Ironsight." he said, pointing to Sarge and Ironsight. "We're called the Deadboys." added Ace. This remark registered as a blank stare from Yuna, Rikku, and Tidus, though Paine perked up. Rikku tilted her head to side. "You guys are good fighters. How come we've never heard of you?" she asked. "We take pains not to be heard of." replied Ace. "Why is that?" asked Yuna, looking at Ace. Ace shrugged. "We're trying to keep a low profile while we do our own stuff. I'm sure you can relate, Lady Yuna." replied Ace, smiling. "Please, just call me Yuna." she said to Ace, smiling. Yuna continued, saying, "You already know myself and Rikku. This is Paine," she said, pointing at Paine. Sarge and Ace nodded while Ironsight looked over and looked at Paine. Paine simply nodded as Yuna continued. "And, this is my love." she said, holding Tidus's hand. Sarge looked over. "What's your name?" he asked. "Tidus." replied Tidus. Sarge nodded. "Good. The way she said it was a little ambiguous." Sarge added, puffing his cigar. "So, Tidus was one of your guardians and Paine was a member of the Gullwings, correct?" asked Ace. Yuna nodded, replying, "Yes, that's right." Yuna took a breath and then asked, "So, what brings the three of you to Besaid?"

Sarge reached into his jacket and pulled out the red sphere, which was glowing in his hand. The blue orb that Ace held was glowing, albeit not as bright as the sphere Sarge was holding. "Yuna," began Ace. "I was hoping you might be able to tell us what these were." Yuna looked over and studied the spheres. "They look similar to the spheres that temples used during the pilgrimages to test the summoners." she said. Yuna recognized the colors. The teal sphere was from Besaid and the red sphere was from Kilika. "They look different, though." noted Yuna as she leaned in for a closer look. As Yuna studied the sphere Ace was holding, Tidus looked over at Sarge. "Where did you get these?" he asked. "The one I have we found in Kilika. The other we just found here on Besaid." replied Sarge. Yuna looked at Ace and asked, "Can I hold it?" Ace nodded and handed the sphere to Yuna. As soon as it left Ace's hand, the sphere began to glow brightly. The group around the spheres, looked at the one Yuna was holding. Yuna studied the sphere. "Now... that's interesting." said Ace. Rikku looked at the sphere. "Why does it glow when Yunie holds it?" she asked. Ace shrugged and Yuna didn't respond, her gaze still fixed on the orb. Yuna wracked her brain, trying to think of anything that might explain the spheres, but to no avail.

"The famous summoner drawing a blank?" joked Tidus. Yuna couldn't help but smile. "I've never seen something like this." she replied. Rikku and Paine nodded in agreement. Sarge looked at Yuna. "Is there anywhere we can go to find out a little more about these spheres?" asked Sarge. Yuna thought for a moment. "If we took a look at some of the different temples, we might be able to find something." she said. "We might have the best luck at Bevelle. That was where the church of Yevon was based, so to speak." added Yuna. Yuna turned her head to Rikku. "Rikku, do you think Brother could give us a ride to Bevelle?" she asked. Rikku nodded, replying, "I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem." The Al Bhed girl stood up and walked away from the group, then began to speak into her radio. Tidus tilted his head. " Do you think they'll let us in? The temples are off limits according to Nooj and Baralai." said Tidus. "The former leaders of the Youth League and New Yevon, right?" asked Ace. Yuna nodded. "I'm sure we can talk our way in." said Yuna. "Isn't celebrity status grand?" Sarge remarked.

Rikku walked back over, somewhat distressed. "Doesn't look like we'll be able to get a ride. Buddy told me that father needed the ship for something and we can't use it right now." she said. Yuna looked at Rikku. "Did he say when they could give us a ride?" Yuna asked. Rikku shook her head. "Not for a while." Rikku responded. Ace spoke up. "Well, we have a vehicle parked in Kilika and we have an airship in Luca." he said. Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine turned their heads to Ace. "You have your own airship?" asked Paine. Ace nodded, smiling. Tidus asked, "Why haven't you guys been flying around?" Sarge responded, "Low profile." Ace nodded, adding, "People would notice our airship flying around." Tidus looked at Yuna. "Feel like stretching your legs, Yuna?" asked Tidus. Yuna nodded. "I think I could stand to get out of Besaid for a bit and see the world again." she responded. Paine smiled. Rikku jumped up and down in joy, throwing her fist up in the air excitedly. "Yay! The Gullwings are back together again!" she yelled happily. Sarge looked up, a thoughtful look on his face. "Looks like the Deadboys, and the Gullwings plus one." he said. Ironsight grinned. Ace smiled, saying, "So, the ferry leaves soon. Grab whatever you need for this little trip."

Ace stood up, Ironsight and Sarge followed suit, and the Deadboys began to walk towards the entrance of the village. Rikku and Paine got up and followed the Deadboys, catching up with them before they left the village. "We'll see you over at the boat, you two." said Paine. Tidus and Yuna stood up and walked towards the housing, searching for Wakka and Lulu. By the time they had, Wakka was assisting the villagers, making sure all of them were still there, and making sure that those that were wounded were getting their wounds treated. Lulu was sitting down, clutching her baby again, rocking him to sleep. She looked up and smiled at Tidus and Yuna. "Ah. Good to see you two are all right." she said. Tidus nodded. "Yeah. We made it through the fight." he said. "I'm glad to see Vidina's all right too." added Yuna. Lulu nodded. "Would you mind thanking that pistol wielding man for me? He made sure I got to Wakka." said Lulu. "Ace helped you out?" asked Yuna. "We'll make sure to tell him." said Tidus, smiling. Yuna looked at Lulu. "Lulu, Tidus and I are going to leave for a little bit. We want to take a trip to Bevelle." explained Yuna. Lulu smiled again, then nodded. "All right. Be careful out there." she said. Yuna smiled. "I'm going to head to my house and then we're heading to the ferry." she said. "I'll make sure to let Wakka know that you'll be gone for a while." added Lulu. Yuna and Tidus smiled at Lulu and then walked off farther into the village.

* * *

Near the docks outside of the village, the Deadboys, Rikku, and Paine had sat down, waiting for Tidus and Yuna. Ironsight furrowed his brow, frustrated. "Good god..." he grumbled. "How long is it gonna be 'till those two get here? We've got shit to do." Rikku, Paine, and Ace all looked at Ironsight. "Patience is a virtue, Ironsight. The temple will be there." said Ace. Rikku looked at Paine, who returned her gaze. "So, Paine, what brought you to Besaid?" she asked. "I know you wanted to see Yunie too, but you showed up at a pretty opportune time." Ace looked in on the two as Ironsight stood up and walked over to the beach. Sarge laid back on the sand, puffing a cigar. Paine looked away from both Ace and Rikku. "I had... a dream, I guess." she said, looking at the sand. "A dream? What about?" asked Rikku. Paine paused. "I saw... a woman... with blue skin and hair. She was imprisoned in a gigantic block of ice. I stood in front of it, trying not to shiver from the cold. I heard a woman's voice in my head, saying, 'Go to Besaid.'" said Paine, recalling the dream in her mind's eye vividly. Ace put his thumb and index finger on either side of his jaw. "That sounds familiar..." Ace said. Rikku looked away for a moment. "That sounds like an aeon." she muttered. Paine looked back over at Rikku, as did Ace. "If we can interpret the dream correctly, I'd say one of the aeons is reaching out to you." said Ace. Paine looked over at Ace, asking, "Why would they do that?" Ace shook his head. "Don't know." he responded. "Maybe Yuna could add a little insight to the conversation."

* * *

Character Profile -

Tidus -

"The story continues." -Yuna

Class - Warrior / Time Mage

Weapon - Longsword - "Brotherhood"

Overdrive - Swordplay

Spiral Cut

Blitzball Ace

The son of a legendary blitzball player, Tidus aided Yuna in her quest to destroy Sin three years ago. During this journey, he discovered that he was a manifestation of the fayth, and upon Sin's defeat, Tidus faded from existence. Two years later, however, he was revived by the fayth as a gift to Yuna, and has since been spending his time on Besaid. His skills as a blitzball player and a swordsman have not decayed, and he will grab a ball to join in a game or pick up his sword to fight the fiends at a moment's notice.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

* * *

Yuna and Tidus strolled down the path leading to the beach near the dock. Tidus looked over at Yuna. "Should be good to be out and about for a while, huh?" asked Tidus. Yuna nodded. "I'd like to see how things have been going since I went back to Besaid." she responded. "I'm glad you're going with me." said Yuna, looking at Tidus. She bounced over to the side and put her arms around her love, resting her head on his shoulder. Tidus put one arm around her and nodded in agreement. "I'm glad I'm going with too. It's been a while since I left... well... anywhere." he said. The two let go of each other and continued walking. "Think the world's pieced itself back together since New Yevon and Youth League merged?" asked Tidus. Yuna shook her head. "I don't know." she responded. Yuna continued, saying, "I remember Baralai saying that he was having trouble making sure the people in New Yevon followed his lead." Tidus sighed. "There will always be people who can't let go of old beliefs like that." he said. "It was a great part of Spira until Sin was finally defeated for good." added Yuna. Tidus beamed. "Thanks in no small part to the great summoner Yuna and her faithful guardians." said Tidus, puffing out his chest as he mentioned "her faithful guardians". Yuna couldn't help but giggle.

The two came into view of the docks, setting foot on the sand of the beach. The two saw the Deadboys, Paine, and Rikku sitting near the docks. Sarge spotted the two down the beach and smiled. He drew his cigar from his mouth and stood up. "Look at this, avian enthusiasts." he bellowed, putting his hand towards Yuna and Tidus. All eyes turned to Yuna and Tidus, who drew closer to the docks. Sarge grinned. "It's a pair of reclusive lovebirds, who have fluttered down from their tropical little nest." he said. All seven let out laughter. Ace looked over at Sarge. "Now, Sarge, I don't think it's correct to call Yuna a bird, do you? A woman of her disposition, and age?" asked Ace. Sarge paused, then shrugged. "Definitely not old enough to be a bat..." muttered Sarge, taking another puff from his cigar. Ace laughed again as Sarge turned and began to walk towards the docks, where a large ship awaited. Paine, Ace, and Ironsight followed him, walking up the dock and then boarded the ship. Rikku met with Yuna and Tidus at the ramp up the docks. Rikku smiled. "You two ready to leave home for a little while?" she asked. The two nodded, and together, the three of them walked up the dock.

Within minutes of the entire group stepping on the ship, the ship embarked on its journey to Kilika. There were others on the ferry, but Yuna and company set themselves apart from the rest. They moved towards the bow of the ship, set up so they could hear each other as they talked. Before the conversation began, Sarge looked over the side and smiled a bit, still puffing his cigar. Rikku looked over. "You spend time on boats a lot, Sarge?" she asked. Sarge shook his head. "Can't say I that I have, but I have keel-hauled someone before..." responded Sarge. Ace laughed, saying, "I'll have to hear this story sometime." Sarge turned towards the rest of the group. "So... Paine. Wanna tell Yuna why you came to Besaid?" he asked. All eyes turned to Paine, who seemed reluctant to speak. Eventually she spoke. "I had a dream that I was standing in front of woman with blue skin and hair. She was imprisoned in a block of ice. Then, I heard a woman's voice in my head, saying, 'Go to Besaid.'" Ace looked at Yuna. "We were wondering if you could shed a little light on this." he said. All eyes turned away from Paine, who seemed somewhat relieved. Yuna thought for a moment. "Well, given the description, I think you saw the aeon Shiva in your dream." she said. Yuna thought a little more on the dream. "I'm not sure about the voice, though." she said. Yuna looked at Ace. "Why do you ask?" she asked. "Well, I can't claim to know much about the ideal that the aeons were created from. But, given what we've seen from the spheres and from Paine's dream, it seems like someone, or something, is reaching out." replied Ace. Rikku looked at Ace. "What do you mean about the spheres?" she asked. "They only glow when certain people hold them." he responded. "The one we found in Kilika glows when Sarge holds it, and the one from Besaid glows when Yuna holds it." continued Ace, looking at Sarge. Tidus asked, "You think the spheres have something to do with the aeons?" "Don't know." replied Ace. "But we can assume they are based on the fact that we found them when an aeon was around."

Yuna looked at Sarge. "You defeated Ifrit?" she asked. Sarge paused. "Big beast looking thing?" he asked. Yuna, Tidus, and Rikku nodded. Sarge nodded, puffing his cigar. "Then yeah. I did." he said. Ironsight looked somewhat distressed at this news. "Ifrit's a wild beast" said Yuna. "How did you manage to take him down?" Sarge shrugged. "I'm not sure. Didn't seem that strong to me." replied Sarge. Ace chuckled. "I'm not too surprised. You probably would've killed Valefor if she hadn't thrown you into the bushes." Ace said. Paine nodded in agreement. Ace looked back at Yuna. "So what can we figure out from this? With the aeons reaching out to us and all?" he asked. Tidus looked at Yuna, asking, " How many off the aeons are left?" Yuna paused. She then looked at Ace. "Well, there are a total of eight different aeons. Are you saying that there are aeons reaching out to every one of us?" she responded. Ace shrugged, replying, "Not sure." He looked towards the sea, saying, "But it's plausible, isn't it? I mean, you've pulled their assess out of the fire twice already, right? You're one of the few people in the world, probably the only one living, that they could trust." Ace turned to Yuna. "Would it be impossible to think that in a time of need they'd turn to you again?" All eyes were on Yuna. Ace smiled. "You've saved this world twice. You ended a the reign of a creature who had terrorized the world for an eternity, and years later you destroyed a man-made weapon that was going to be used to collapse reality. Face it, Yuna. You are this world's savior." explains Ace.

Yuna smiled. "Thank you, Ace." she said. Ace just bowed his head. "I can't say for sure we know what the aeons are trying to do. We've only contacted two of them, and neither of them really in a speaking mood." she said. "I'm not sure what the spheres are for either." explained the former summoner. Yuna looked back at the rest of the group. "We don't know enough to figure out what's going on. I think if we investigate some of the other temples, it might give us a little more insight on to what's going on in the world." she said. Ironsight nodded in agreement. "I think that would be best thing to do. Knowledge is power, after all." he said, smiling. Sarge smiled. "So, until we can figure out anything else, I say we treat this like a vacation." he said, reaching into his coat and pulled out a flask. As Sarge began to unscrew the top, Ironsight looked over, smirking. "You treat EVERYTHING like it's a vacation!" declared the sniper. Ace laughed as Sarge lifted the flask up to his lips. "Well, I have a lot of fun, don't I?" Sarge responded before drinking from the flask. Paine couldn't help but smile. "You're a bit of a party animal, huh?" she asked Sarge. Ace shook his head, looking at Paine, and spoke, "You can say that all you want, but he's never used parties as an excuse to drink." Rikku giggled. "So you're saying he's just an animal." Ironsight nodded. Ace replied, "Yep. Just an animal. A junkyard dog." Sarge puffed his cigar, a look of joy on his face as he enjoyed the taste of both the cigar and the contents of his flask. Sarge looked at the others, occasionally sipping from his flask. "So, what's our next move?" asked Sarge. Ace continued, saying, "We get on the ferry from Kilika to Luca, jump onto our airship, then fly to Bevelle. Sound about right?" "Sounds about right." responded Rikku. Sarge nodded. "Good." he replied. "Then we can enjoy a nice leisurely cruise from here to Kilika, then get some sleep on our way to Luca and get there in the morning." said Sarge. The others nodded in response. Tidus looked over towards Ace. "So, Ace." began the blitzball star. " You know a fair amount about us. Why don't you guys tell us a bit about yourselves?" asked Tidus. Yuna smiled, adding, "I'd like to know more about you guys too. As long as we're traveling together, we might as well get to know one another."

"You wanna hear our story?" asked Ace. He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that it's not as... romantic." Ace looked over at Sarge. "That the right word?" he asked. Sarge thought for a moment, then nodded. Ace looked over at the Gullwings and Tidus. "We're not much more than soldiers." explained Ace. "Oh, come on." said Tidus. Rikku shook her head. "You guys are waaay too good to just be 'soldiers'." said Rikku. Ace shrugged. "Well, that's the vibe I'd like to give off. Draws less attention." Ace responded. "I don't think I need to explain much about our abilities." Ace grinned. "I do enjoy to boast, but, all of you saw what we did on Besaid. I think that speaks for itself." said Ace, puffing his chest out. "You can guess what our... uh... specialities are." said Ace. Tidus looked at the Deadboys. "Well, Let's see." he muttered. "Ace, you're the strategist of the group." said Tidus. Rikku looked at Ironsight. "Ironsight's the sharpshooter." said the Al Bhed girl. Yuna looked over at Sarge. "And Sarge would be..." she said, trailing off. There was a moment of silence, during which Sarge smiled. Yuna cleared her throat, then spoke. "Uh... Sarge is... Sarge?" she said. Ace nodded. "That's the best way we could describe his abilities." he said. Sarge screwed the top on his flask and slipped it back into his coat as he puffed from his cigar. "We were a part of the Crusaders for a while. Eventually we got fed up with what they're doing and decided that there are plenty battles to be fought elsewhere." explained Sarge. He grinned, "And the rest is history."

Ace smiled, looking at Yuna. "And you?" he asked. "Why don't you tell us about yourself? The books never tell the whole story." Ace said, his smile spreading.

* * *

Ironsight was the last of the group to set foot on the docks of Kilika. Yuna and Tidus strolled ahead of the group, their hands locked with one another. "Hard to believe I haven't been here in a while." she said, enjoying the familiar sights. Behind the rest of the group, Sarge and Ironsight walked side by side. Ironsight looked over at Sarge, smiling. "What's the count?" he asked. Sarge paused for a moment before replying, "222." Ironsight nearly jumped for joy at this response. "226!" declared the sniper. "Yes!" he yelled, thrusting his fist in the air. Sarge shook his head, grinning. The group reached the end of the docks and stepped into the village. Sarge tapped Ace on the arm, saying, "I'm going to get the stryker. Be back as soon as I can." he said. Ace nodded. Ironsight watched as Sarge walked away, but decided to stay with the group. As the group walked deeper into the village, many heads turned as they saw Yuna. Yuna smiled, then looked back at Ace. "Ace, how long will it be until Sarge gets back with your... machine?" she asked. Ace replied, "Not too long. Why?" Yuna looked at Tidus, then at Rikku and Paine. "There's someone in the village I'd like to go see." she said. The group walked to a house one supports jutting out of the water. Standing outside of the house, talking to a man in armor, was a slender, dark-skinned woman wearing revealing clothing, and appearing to be a little older than Yuna. As the armored man turned away, the woman saw Yuna. A small smile spread on her lips as she walked over to great them. "Why, if it isn't Lady Yuna." she said, bowing. Yuna nodded. "Hello, Dona." replied Yuna. Dona stood up straight. "This is something rare, a visit from the great summoner. What brings you to Kilika?" she asked. "Just felt like stretching my legs for a bit." she responded. Dona nodded. "It's odd that you should show up at this particular moment." she said. Yuna tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?" asked the former summoner. Dona looked towards the forest, then looked back at Yuna, saying, "I thought you would have heard. Kilika Temple has been destroyed." she said.

Yuna seemed somewhat startled by this, as did Tidus. Rikku looked back at Ace, who showed no reaction to the news. Rikku looked back towards Dona. "The temple's been destroyed?" repeated Yuna. "What happened?" she added. Dona shook her head. "Nobody is sure yet, but we did find the unconscious and dead bodies of a malevolent group of Al Bhed mercenaries. Most people are blaming them." explained Dona. "At this point," continued Dona. "It's difficult to figure everything out. The temple had some fiends inside and someone hired some local guns to deal with them." Yuna nodded. "What do you think happened?" asked the former summoner. Dona shrugged. "I'm not really sure. We've got people combing through the ruins of the temple to see if there was anyone caught in there. I'm sure that after do a little digging, we'll figure out what caused this." replied Dona. Yuna nodded, replying, "I hope so. This is unfortunate to hear. The temple on Besaid collapsed earlier today." Dona's face contorted to one of shock. "The temple of Besaid has fallen as well?" she asked. Yuna simply nodded. Dona sighed. "Two temples in one day? What's happening?" she asked. As Dona was about to speak again, Dona saw a large bare-chested man standing down the path to the jungle on Kilika, smiling. Dona smiled at the man then turned back to Yuna. "I'm sorry, Lady Yuna. I must excuse myself. Please, come back another time." she said, smiling and bowing to Yuna. Yuna smiled, saying, "Of course!" Dona walked away from the group and towards the large man near the jungle's entrance. Yuna and company walked towards the dock, seeing a large ferry arrive at the docks. As soon as the group was out of earshot of Dona, Yuna shot a look over to Ace.

"It was Sarge, wasn't it?" she asked. Ace sighed, nodding. Yuna shook her head. "Why did he do that?" she asked, her tone of voice stern. Ace chuckled, looking back at Yuna. "You're asking me? I can't explain why Sarge destroys EVERYTHING." retorted Ace. Yuna scoffed, looking at Rikku. Rikku shook her head, saying, "Don't look at me. I don't know." The group walked down the docks, and up a ramp that connected the ferry. "Fine." said Yuna.

* * *

The stryker rolled down the docks, some of the wood creaking as the large vehicle drove over. A side of the ferry had opened up, allowing the vehicle to move inside the vessel's storage space where Sarge immediately parked it. With a lit cigar in this hands, Sarge clambered out of the stryker from a hatch on top of the vehicle itself. Sarge nodded at some of the ferry's crewman, who slid the side of the ferry shut, which sealed upon closing up. Sarge walked out of the storage area, through the passenger dorms, and up to the open bow. Sarge saw his traveling companions, but noticed that Tidus and Yuna were not among them. Sarge puffed from his cigar as he sauntered up to Ace, who was listening to a conversation between Rikku and Paine. The three of them looked up as Sarge got close. "Yuna figure out I 'caused the temple to be destroyed'?" asked Sarge. Ace nodded, saying, "Those two are off for some alone time right now." Sarge looked towards Ironsight, who was by the side of the boat, his rifle drawn, aiming at the water. "Convenient." said Sarge as he sat down next to them. "You can't really blame her for feeling a bit of animosity towards you, can you?" asked Ace. Sarge shook his head. "No," began Sarge. "But she killed Yu Yevon herself. She effectively destroyed that religion by killing the figurehead at the top." Sarge took one last puff of his cigar before pitching the butt over his shoulder and into the water. Sarge looked over at Ace. "No use living in the past, is there?" asked Sarge, grinning. Ace looked away from Sarge and down at the ground. Sarge gave Ace a pat on the back then looked over at Rikku and Paine. "There's plenty of things people could do with the space and resources from those temples." Sarge stated. Rikku said, "But those temples are monuments to the people that protected this land from Sin." Paine leaned back in her seat as Sarge smiled at Rikku. "Don't you think that the books, and the other statues in the world, and even the fact that everyone in this world is monument enough to summoners?" injected Ace. Rikku turned her gaze towards Ace. He continued, saying, "Besides, Yuna doesn't seem the type that wants tribute for her actions. I'd bet she'd die if she found out that anyone was going to build a statue of her."

Paine smiled at this comment. Rikku smiled somewhat, nodding in agreement. "People have enough trouble letting go of things as it is. If the people of Spira are really serious on going in a new direction and soldiering forward in the future, they can't be looking back at times like when Sin was around." said Ace. Ace paused for a moment then looked at Sarge. "You know, I think you're the only person who could ever talk about sacrilege in a positive light." stated Ace. Sarge smiled, but before he could respond, Ironsight interrupted, saying, "I'll never look at cheese and crackers the same way again." Sarge burst into laughter as Ace shook his head. Ironsight shot his rife, then yelled, "229!"

* * *

On the other end of the ship, Tidus and Yuna sat, holding hands and watching the waves made in the wake of the ferry. Far off, the sun was nestling itself into the horizon, sending gentle hues of red and orange into the sky. Tidus smiled and looked over at Yuna. "Feel good to be spreading your wings again?" asked Tidus. Yuna nodded, smiling. "It's nice." she replied. Yuna laughed a bit. "I'm glad that I get to see Rikku and Paine. I've missed them a lot since they both went off to do their own thing." she added. Tidus looked back towards the wake of the boat. "That makes sense. Those two are probably your closest friends. You've saved the world with them, twice with Rikku." explained Tidus. The blitzball star looked over at Yuna again, saying, "And what about our newfound friends?"

Yuna looked up for a moment, pondering. "Well, they seem nice enough." said Yuna. "Not sure I trust them all that much yet." she added. Yuna returned Tidus's gaze. "They're three men who took the destruction of two different temples very lightly." she said. "I mean, yes, they helped defend Besaid..." Yuna continued, looking away. "But, there's something more to them, and the fact that Ace tries to avoid explaining some things is evidence of that." Tidus nodded, tilting his head a bit. "Well, everyone has things they don't want to talk about, Yuna." said Tidus. "Ace probably feels the same way about you as you do of them." he added. Yuna looked down at the churning waters behind the boat again. "I suppose so." she said. Tidus looked towards the horizon, just as the last of the suns rays disappeared. Left in the sky was the black of space, decorated with the light of the stars. Yuna and Tidus looked up, gazing at the stars. "Probably time to get some rest." said Yuna, moving to stand up. But, Tidus gripped her hand and looked into her eyes. "Do you mind if we stay out here for a little bit?" he asked. Yuna smiled and sat back down, resting her head on her love's shoulder.

* * *

The Deadboys, Rikku, and Paine walked down into the hallways of the passenger dorms, where there were others filing into their respective rooms. Ace lead the group to two rooms side by side, both with three beds in them. All six stood in the hallway, waiting for Tidus and Yuna. Sarge reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of beef jerky and tore off a large piece with his teeth. Ironsight looked over at Sarge and grinned. "Run out of dog biscuits?" he asked. Sarge reached into his jacket with his free hand and pulled out a small plastic bag that had the picture of a biscuit shaped like a bone. "Yeah." Sarge responded. Sarge continued to chew his beef jerky as Ironsight raised an eyebrow and the rest of the group laughed. "The food on that ship from Besaid to Kilika was decent, but what do think we are, birds?" said Sarge. Rikku's eyes widened. "Birds? You had like three plates of food!" she said. Sarge just shrugged. As Sarge put the plastic bag back into his jacket, Paine asked, "Why do you eat those things?" Sarge swallowed a mouthful of beef jerky and replied, "A little fiber never hurt anyone, did it?" Ace cringed. "A little fiber?" he said. "You need more than a little. I remember the night you were assigned as my superior officer. You came out of the bathroom and it smelled like something had died!" exclaimed Ace. Rikku and Paine cringed at this. "All right, that's enough!" yelled Ironsight. All eyes were on Ironsight. Ironsight looked at Ace and Sarge, then at Rikku and Paine. "We don't want to give these fine ladies any nightmares, would we?" he asked, winking at the two. Rikku and Paine chuckled a bit as Sarge shook his head. "Everyone should be able to appreciate a little toilet humor." he said.

The group heard footsteps down the hall, and heads turned to see Tidus and Yuna walking towards them. "E's kmyt dryd luhjancydeuh'c ujan." muttered Rikku. Ace smiled. "All right you two, time to get some sleep. We'll need our energy for tomorrow." said Ace as he turned around and walked into one of the rooms. Ironsight walked in behind him. Rikku and Paine walked into the room next to that one as Sarge remained outside of the room, finishing the rest of his beef jerky. Yuna walked into the room with Rikku and Paine. Tidus was about to follow, but he felt himself being pushed back by Sarge. "Where do you think you're going?" asked Sarge. Tidus's mouth was agape for a moment as he looked at Sarge, then looked into the room and saw the Gullwings. "Oh... uh..." croaked Tidus. Yuna gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled. "I'll see you in the morning." she said. Yuna turned and closed the door behind her.

Yuna smiled at Rikku and Paine, who were beginning to take off their gloves and boots. Yuna followed suit, sitting at the foot of her bed and undoing the laces of her boots. Then, from the room next to theirs, the Gullwings could hear Tidus say, "Three beds? What the hell?" There was silence for a moment before Sarge said, "I'm sleeping in the hall." The Gullwings couldn't help but smile. "Long day, huh?" Yuna said to her friends. Rikku nodded, frowning a bit. "I've had a really long day... Kinda sore." she groaned, stretching a bit. Yuna smiled. "Yeah. I'm still a little tired from the fight at Besaid." she said. Paine shook her head. "You two have gone softer than you already are." said the leather-clad Gullwing, who had finished removing her boots. Rikku shot a glare over at Paine, saying, "Just 'cause we doing fight as much as you do, Dr. P."

Minutes later, Yuna flicked a switch on the wall, shutting off the lights in the room. The three fell back into their beds, and drifted off to sleep with a smile.

* * *

Character Profile -

Ironsight -

"If you can't do it with one bullet, Ironsight probably can." -Ace

Class - Sniper

Weapon - Sniper Rifle - "Kingslayer"

Overdrive - Sharpshooter

I'm Here Too!

The One Shot

One of the Deadboys. Ironsight's marksmanship is the stuff of legends. Able to pull extraordinary shots with relative ease, Ironsight takes great pride in his skill and is deeply offended if anyone puts it down. He is highly competitive, and is always looking for the next test to prove his skill. His most competent competition as of late has been Sarge. While a skilled marksman, Ironsight is known to have talent as a thief and is a skilled cook.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

* * *

Yuna smiled as the rays of the sun shooting through the scattered clouds hit her face. She could hear the sound of the waves and the cries of gulls overhead. She stirred slightly to get used to the different feeling of her bed. It wasn't a soft, warm, mattress, but was now rough, and damp. Yuna opened her eyes. She was laying on a beach. Quickly, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Not far from where she was laying, she saw the unconscious bodies of Ace, Ironsight, Rikku, Paine, and Tidus. She stood up and ran towards the unconscious Tidus, who was face down in the sand. Yuna turned him over brushing sand from his face. As she was about to rouse him, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked over and saw the ferry they had been traveling on. It had crashed into a cliff face, and there was a gigantic hole on the side of the ship. Near the ship was the stryker, its back door opened.

The former summoner looked back down at Tidus and put her ear to his chest. A wave of relief washed over her as she heard his heartbeat. Yuna sat up and looked around for a moment, noticing that someone was missing. It was at that point that she heard music coming from the direction of the crashed ship. Standing up, Yuna slowly gained her bearings as she walked bare-foot through the sand. She saw splintered planks floating in and out with the waves as she looked out into the surf. She wasn't sure whether or not she should be worried or relieved because she couldn't see any bodies. As Yuna got closer to the stryker, she could hear the music get a bit louder. The music playing featured drums, electric guitars, and bass. She heard the lyric, "I'm cooking up an old time, long lost recipe, for me." as she looked around for any sign of Sarge. Peering into the door, she couldn't see him, but she did hear a metallic clicking coming from underneath the large vehicle. Yuna walked around the side of the stryker and saw a pair of boots sticking out from under the vehicle.

"Sarge?" she said. The metallic clicking stopped and a fully clothed, wrench wielding, Sarge, sans his jacket, crawled from underneath the stryker. "Good to see someone's finally up." he said, brushing sand off of his clothing. "You all right?" he asked. It was at that point that Yuna realized that she was a little sore. She stretched somewhat as she looked at the ship. Yuna noticed that there were no lifeboats present on the side of the ferry. Sarge walked towards the back door of the stryker and reached in, tapping a button and shutting off the music. "What happened?" asked Yuna, looking back at Sarge. Sarge drew out a cigar and a lighter. "Don't know." he said, lighting up his cigar. He flicked his wrist and shut his lighter, taking a puff from his cigar then looking back at Yuna. "I woke up for a smoke and the ship was deserted. Life boats were gone and the helm had been tied into place." he said. Yuna wasn't sure what to make of this information. The former summoner looked at the wreckage, then back at Sarge. "Why didn't you try and steer it?" she asked. Sarge scoffed, saying, "I'm no sailor." Sarge reached back into the stryker and pulled out his leather jacket and a large box, which Yuna could see had her boots and equipment, as well as the clothing and equipment of the others.

Sarge walked back towards the other unconscious bodies, carrying the box with him. Yuna followed by his side. Sarge looked towards a cliff face next to a dirt road. "Any idea where we are?" asked Sarge. Yuna looked away from the beach and studied the surroundings. "It... It looks like we're on Mushroom Rock Road." she said. Yuna looked down at the sand under her feet. It looked exactly like the sand on the beaches of the failed "Operation Mi'hen". Old memories of Al Bhed mechanists and armored Crusaders being crushed by the might of Sin played out in her head for a moment before she snapped herself back to reality. "Mushroom Rock, huh?" echoed Sarge, setting down the box and sitting down next to it, still puffing his cigar. "Lot of people died here a few years ago." Sarge said as Yuna sat down next to him. Sarge looked over at Yuna. "Operation Mi'hen, right? I remember hearing about that." said Sarge. Yuna looked up at Sarge. "You were there?" she asked. Sarge shook his head. "Hell no. Trying to lure out Sin and blast it into oblivion?" said Sarge. He scoffed. "I could smell that pile from miles away." he muttered. Yuna furrowed her brow. "This coming from a man who is more likely to blow something up than take any course of action?"

Sarge chuckled. "I've been fighting all my life. I've learned that there are some things in the world that can't be damaged even by the biggest gun you can get your hands on." he replied, holding his cigar in his middle and index fingers. "And those kinda things make me useless." he added, putting the cigar back in his mouth and puffing. Yuna pulled her boots out of the box and began to put them on, brushing the sand off of her feet before she did. "But, I can understand why people do something like that..." said Sarge. The cigar smoking man turned and looked to Yuna, saying, " If it worked, it would've beaten the alternative, right?" Yuna didn't respond. She dug around in the box, looking for her pistols, belt, and skirt. As she did, she heard groaning from the sprawled out bodies of her companions. Ironsight began to stir, slowly sitting up. He looked around for a moment, brushing sand off of his shirt. "Aw... crap... My shirt's dirty." he muttered. Ironsight looked around, then saw Sarge. As he was about to speak, Ironsight did a double-take, and gazed upon the destroyed ship. "Holy shit!" he yelled. Upon saying that, Ace began to stir. He sat up for a moment, grimacing, and said, "Sarge.... what'd you blow up this time?" Ace finally opened his eyes and immediately caught view of the wrecked ship. He sat up. "Sarge..." growled Ace. Sarge immediately shook his head. "Nope. Can't take credit for this one." Sarge interrupted. He shot a look to Ace. "Do you think I would've just rammed a ship into a cliff?" said Sarge, puffing from his cigar.

Ace looked at the ship then began to rub the back of his head. "Wow... I feel like crap, Sarge. Reminds me of the first night I went out drinking with our squad when we were in the Legions." said Ace. Yuna looked over to Ace. "Have too much to drink?" she asked. Ace shook his head, replying, "Sarge threw me through a wall." Yuna wasn't sure whether or not to laugh at this, but she didn't respond. Ace stood up, groaning. After surveying the damage, Ace looked at Sarge. "What happened?" asked Ace. Sarge shook his head, replying "I don't know." Ace's frustration became apparent. "You don't- What do you mean you don't know?" said Ace, his temper present in his voice. Sarge shrugged. "I woke up for a smoke and the boat was deserted. The helm got tied off." Sarge explained. Ace took a deep breath, and Yuna could tell he was not very convinced by this story. "Why didn't you steer it somewhere else?" asked Ace. "I'm not a sailor, Ace." Sarge replied, taking his cigar out of his mouth. The two stared at each for a moment before Ace looked away. "Fine. We'll figure this out later." said Ace as he walked over to the crate of equipment. By this point, Ironsight had recovered both his boots and his rifle.

As Ace was putting on his sandals, he looked over at the stryker, then back at Sarge. "What's the status of the stryker?" asked Ace. Sarge nodded at the stryker. "It got a little bashed up when it flew out of the ferry. I took a wrench to it and it should be good to drive." Sarge explained. Ace looked around. "Any idea where we are?" he asked, taking a look at the cliffs overlooking the road. Yuna spoke up, saying, "We're somewhere on Mushroom Rock Road, not too far from where Operation Mi'hen took place." Ace nodded at Yuna. "I did a little recon." Sarge said. He stood up and pointed up to the road. "This road gets narrow as it goes east." he added. Yuna paused for a moment, then looked over at Sarge and Ace. "You know, we might be close to Djose Temple." she said. Ace and Sarge looked over at Yuna. Ace looked up at the road as Sarge looked back down at the still bodies of Tidus, Rikku, and Paine. "I think we should head to the temple. Shouldn't be too far of a walk from here. We get back here, pick up the stryker, and head to Luca." said Ace, rolling his neck for a moment. Sarge looked toward the still unconscious Tidus, Rikku, and Paine. "Sounds good." he said, standing up and turning around, taking a look at the road nearby.

Ironsight was near the shore looking through the sight on his gun. Ace looked over at Ironsight, who was facing away, then looked at Sarge, who was facing away from everyone else. Ace shook his head and sighed, then looked at Yuna, smiling slightly. "You look like you slept well." remarked Ace. Yuna returned with a faint smile of her own then looked back down at Tidus. Ace looked down at the trio still laying in the sand. Yuna walked over and kneeled down to Tidus, taking his head and resting it on her lap. Yuna looked down at her love and ran her hand through his hair. Ace smiled at the spectacle then looked at Yuna. "I'm sure he's all right." he said. Yuna looked towards Sarge, who had since walked over to the road, climbing up a small embankment of rocks. She then spoke, saying, "Sarge isn't telling us everything, is he?" she asked to Ace in a softer voice, making sure Sarge couldn't hear. Ace shook his head, answering in the same volume, "He's not a very good liar." Ace looked at Sarge, who still had his back to the group. "But, I know that he wouldn't hide something unless he thought it was absolutely necessary." Ace added, looking back at Yuna. Yuna looked back down at Tidus. From the road, Yuna, Ironsight, and Ace could hear Sarge yell, "Hey, Ironsight!" Ironsight looked at Sarge, who had turned to face him. "234!" yelled Sarge, smiling. Ironsight let out a small sigh then turned towards the shore again, peering through his scope.

Tidus moaned a bit and squirmed, his face contorted to one of discomfort, his teeth bared, his brow furrowed. "Oh.... man...." he grunted. "I hurt all over..." Tidus opened his eyes and immediately saw the smiling face of Yuna. He grinned a bit. "Feeling a bit better now." he said. Yuna giggled a bit as Tidus slowly sat up. "Where are we?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head. Tidus looked around and saw the wrecked ferry moments later, exclaiming, "Whoa!" Tidus turned to Ace and Yuna. "What happened?" he asked. Ace shook his head. "I have no idea." responded the pistol-wielding man. Tidus stood up, and, after seeing the box, went over to recover his equipment. "Wow... It's like I had a nightmare..." he muttered. "Anyone get hurt?" Tidus asked, slipping his foot into one of his boots, brushing off sand before he did. Ace shook his head. "I can't say for sure, but we were apparently the only ones who didn't make it off the boat. All of the lifeboats are gone, so I'm assuming that the other passengers and the crew made it off of the ship before it crashed into a cliff face." explained Ace as Tidus put on his other boot. Puzzled by Ace's explanation, Tidus put on his pauldron and gauntlet. "Couldn't someone have steered it away from the cliff?" Tidus asked, picking up Brotherhood from the box. Tidus groaned, stretching a bit. "Hey Ace, you guys got beds on your airship? I don't feel like I got a good night's rest." he said. Ace laughed. "I feel the same way, Tidus." said Ace, patting Tidus on the shoulder. "I'm going to wait for Rikku and Paine to wake up, then I'll explain the plan to everyone..." said Ace. Tidus walked back over to Yuna. "You all right?" asked Tidus, somewhat concerned. Yuna answered with a smile. "Maybe the reason you didn't sleep so well is because we were in separate rooms." she said. The two laughed for a moment then looked away, both of them blushing.

Moments later, Paine and Rikku awoke. "E rind... ajanofrana..." muttered Rikku, wincing in pain. Paine slowly stood up and looked around, a wave of relief coming over her has she saw the others in the immediate vicinity. As Rikku gathered herself, Paine stood up and walked over to the crate where she saw her sword and clothing. Rikku stood up, and after seeing the wreckage gasped in horror. "Ur hu!" she exclaimed. The Al Bhed girl wheeled around, frantically looking around for her dear cousin. As soon as she spotted Yuna, Rikku ran barefoot through the sand and hugged Yuna. "Oh Yunie! I'm so glad you're okay!" she said. Rikku let go as Yuna smiled at her. "I'm fine, Rikku. We all made it out of the ferry okay." said Yuna. Rikku smiled and nodded, then turned to the wreckage, muttering, "Disasteriffic." Rikku walked over to the box which only contained her gear. "How could something like this happen?" she asked as she dressed herself and grabbed her gear. While waiting for an answer, Paine and Rikku caught each other's eye. They nodded at one another, with Rikku saying, "Good morning, Dr. P." Ace cleared his throat, which got the attention of rest of the group, sans Sarge, who was not in the vicinity.

"The way Sarge tells it, the ship was abandoned when he woke up for a cigar. The helm was tied off and he wasn't able to maneuver out of the way in time. The lifeboats were all gone, and the only people left on the ship were the seven of us." said Ace. There was a bit of silence before Paine spoke up. "You actually believe that?" she asked. Ace laughed a bit, then replied, "Not for a second." Ironsight walked over to the group, resting the barrel of his sniper rifle on his shoulder. Ace sighed, then continued, saying, "The plan is to head to Djose Temple from here. We investigate the temple, come back here, then grab the stryker. After that, we head to Luca and continue from there." explained Ace. Turning back towards the group, he crossed his arms and smiled. "Any questions?" he asked, looking at everyone in front of him. After a few moments of silence. Tidus asked, "Why not take the... stryker to the temple?" "Because from what Sarge said, the road isn't wide enough for the stryker to move through." responded Ace. Ironsight sighed. "No more questions." he groaned. "I wanna get to Luca sometime today, so can we get moving?" added Ironsight, walking off towards the road. Ace shook his head and looked at the rest of the group, then turned and walked off behind Ironsight. The Gullwings and Tidus looked at each other then followed suit, and headed towards the road. As soon as they climbed up to the road, they saw Sarge, sitting on a rock, smoking his cigar and putting his flask back into his jacket. He hopped down, putting the cigar back in his mouth. The rest of the group watch as Sarge approached, drawing a shotgun off of his back and checking the clip, then slinging it onto his back again. Sarge joined the group and smiled. "Sorry I'm not good at keeping secrets." he said. Ace turned away, saying, "Let's get going."

* * *

Sarge lead the group down Mushroom Rock Road. Taking up the rear was Ironsight. Yuna and Tidus walked side by side behind Sarge, with Rikku, Paine, and Ace behind them. Ace looked around. "Sarge, we probably could've taken the stryker on this road." commented Ace. Sarge just shrugged. Ace scoffed and shook his head in response. Yuna looked back towards Rikku. "So Rikku, do you know if the Machine Faction is still at the temple?" she asked. Rikku shook her head. "I don't think so. As far as I know, Gippal moved the operation back to Bikanel Island, though he himself gets a lot of time in Bevelle, working with Baralai and Nooj." responded the Al Bhed girl. Ace looked over. "Well, that's good. I'll bet he's bringing in new technology to the attention of the two. They're kinda the leaders of Spira at the moment." he commented. Yuna nodded in agreement, adding, "I couldn't think of a better group to lead the people." "Three different points of view." said Paine. She turned her head as the others looked at her. "But they've worked together before." added the leather-clad Gullwing. "Well, that's a good thing." said Ace. He shot a glance at Sarge, and said, "That way is the temple somehow happens to fall apart, nobody will be getting hurt." Sarge didn't return his gaze, but continued to puff his cigar. Yuna looked at Sarge too, asking, "Sarge, are you going to wreck another temple?" "If I need to, I will." Sarge replied.

The group was silent. Seven pairs of feet could be heard walking over the dirt road. Suddenly, there were only two. Yuna noticed that Tidus had stopped moving. She stopped walking herself and turned back to look at Tidus. The smile from her face faded somewhat as she saw that Tidus and the others were staring straight ahead, not moving at all. Tidus began to shiver a bit, and slowly began to move. "Yuna..." he said, his eyes turning to meet hers. Yuna didn't need him to say anything. Tidus's eyes conveyed desperation that he was unable to express. Yuna began to back away slowly as Tidus shakily drew Brotherhood. "Get away from me!" he yelled. Yuna moved back a bit, not sure what to do. Tidus began to move, raising the sword to strike her. Then, before either could react, there was Sarge, coming out of the side like a blur. Tidus was allowed the view of a charging Sarge before the cigar smoking man threw his fist forward, delivering a powerful punch to the blitzball star's head.

Tidus fell to the ground, looking up into the sky, barely able to make anything out. His vision was blurred and his head was ringing. Sarge threw his cigar over the side of the road and pushed Yuna back from the area. "Get back and don't watch." he said. "You again." said Paine. Ace and Ironsight drew their guns, aiming them at Sarge. Rikku and Paine drew their weapons as well, all eyes being on Sarge. Yuna drew her pistols, not sure what to do. Sarge reached into his goat and pulled out a pair of grenades, leaving the pins in. "Now that I'm armed, you think you're going to survive?" said Rikku. After those words, three gunshots were heard, one from each of Ace's pistols and one from Ironsight's rifle. Yuna winced, waiting to see Sarge shot. But nothing happened. Sarge instead smile, taking a grenade in one hand and yelling, "Hell yeah!" Sarge hurled one of the grenades, smacking Ironsight in the head and sending him to the ground. Sarge threw the other grenade at Ace, who turned to see Ironsight fall. The grenade collided with Ace and sent him into the ground as well. Tidus began to struggle back to his feet as Paine and Rikku charged at Sarge.

Sarge drew his sawn off shotgun as Rikku and Paine rushed at him. Sarge fended off a rush of knife strikes from Rikku with his shotgun as Paine swung her sword in a horizontal arc, intending to decapitate Sarge. Sarge ducked under the attack and ripped upward with a vicious uppercut, striking Paine in the jaw. Paine staggered back and fell as Sarge put a bit of distance between him and Rikku. Rikku rushed at Sarge, lashing at Sarge with her daggers and stringing in a well placed kick in her attack. Sarge batted away both daggers with his shotgun and took the kick straight to the chest. Rikku stumbled back a bit as Sarge didn't budge from the attack. Before she was allowed to regain her balance, Sarge clobbered her with a lariat, striking her in the neck with his forearm and sending her to the ground. Tidus, finally stood up, still shaking and stepped towards Sarge, pulling back his sword and striking at him with Brotherhood. Sarge wheeled around, blocking the sword with his shotgun. "Sorry." said Sarge before forming a fist with his free hand and driving it into Tidus's head once again. Tidus staggered back, his vision blurred. Sarge moved in, and let his right fist fly in a hook, smashing Tidus in the head again. Tidus dropped to the ground, dropping Brotherhood into the dirt as he did.

Yuna watched in horror from a distance as she saw Sarge dismantle her friends and his without any hesitation at all. She dropped her guns to the ground and turned away, trying to drive the image of Tidus preparing to strike her out of her mind. But, hearing the battle, and the cries of pain from her friends, it became difficult to do so. The former summoner looked back over her shoulder and watched.

Sarge turned around, seeing Rikku, Paine, Ace, and Ironsight begin to stand up. Sarge growled and began to move towards the recovering Rikku. As he got closer, Rikku crouched down and lunged forward, stabbing at Sarge with both of her daggers. Sarge dropped his shotgun to the side and caught Rikku in mid-air, just as she sank the tips of her daggers into Sarge's chest. Rikku struggled, trying to sink the daggers deeper. Though, as much as she tried, she was unable to overcome Sarge's strength. Sarge shoved Rikku off of him. The Al Bhed girl flipped in the air and landed on her feet, ready to charge again. Sarge caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to see Paine swinging her sword upward. Sarge jumped back, but was unable to dodge the attack completely, and was slashed across his chest. Blood sept into Sarge's shirt, though he didn't seem to notice. Rikku charged from one side as Paine attacked again. Sarge stepped out of the way of Paine's attack. Rikku swung both of daggers, both of which Sarge dodged by shifting to the side. As Rikku was ready to attack again, Sarge grabbed the Al Bhed girl by her arm and swung her around, lifting her from the ground. Sarge let go of Rikku's arm, sending her flying at Paine. The two collided and fell to the ground, as Ace and Ironsight aimed at Sarge again. The two fired their guns again, though had the same effect as the first attempt. Sarge charged at Ace, barreling into the Deadboy and bashing him into a nearby stone wall. Ace threw his guns to the side and pushed away from the wall, taking a martial arts stance and attacking Sarge with a snap kick to the head. Sarge took the blow and shrugged it off, planting his fist into Ace's gut. Ace gasped as the air was forced from his lungs, and then fell to his knees as Sarge moved away.

Ironsight swung at Sarge with the butt of his rifle, Sarge caught the weapon before it connected and smashed his head against Ironsight's. Sarge ripped the gun from Ironsight's grasp and tossed it to the side. Ironsight reached for his belt, grasping for something. Sarge rushed Ironsight, striking him with his fist. Ironsight stumbled back down to the ground as Sarge walked over and picked up the grenade his had Ironsight with. Ace stood up, holding his abdomen. He looked just as Sarge grabbed him by the shirt and threw him next to Ironsight, whom was trying to stand up. Sarge walked back to Paine and Rikku, both of whom were standing up, ready to attack. Sarge yanked the pin of his grenade out with his teeth and spat it into the dirt. Paine swung at Sarge again, who dodged the attack and clubbed her over the head with his free hand, then pushed her into Ace and Ironsight. Rikku slashed at Sarge again, who dodged the attack and grabbed Rikku by the back of her head and threw her into the others. Sarge threw the grenade above their heads, and the four of them ducked as the grenade exploded. The nearby stone wall crumbled, showering the four with rocks and covering them with a pile of rubble.

Yuna gasped, watching as her friends may have been crushed. She felt fear, anxiety, and then anger. "How could he do something like this!?!" Yuna thought. Kneeling down to the dirt, Yuna scooped up her pistols and stood up. She aimed her pistols at Sarge, cocking back the hammers on both. Sarge, almost instinctively, picked up his sawn off shotgun, spun around and aimed at Yuna. "Wanna tell me why you're about to shoot me?" said Sarge. "Do I even need to explain!?!" yelled Yuna. Sarge sighed as Yuna looked down at Tidus, then back at Sarge. "Why didn't you attack me?" Yuna said. Sarge shook his head. "You're not a threat. If you were, I would've taken care of you already." replied Sarge. Yuna looked at the rubble. "They're all alive. From what I've gathered, they've survived more than just landslides." said Sarge. Yuna looked back at him. "I'm going to dig them out of there, and once they're awake, I'll tell you guys what I know." continued Sarge. There was a moment of silence before Sarge said, "Are you gonna put your guns away or am I gonna have to shoot you?" Yuna didn't respond initially, waiting for a moment, thinking of whether or not to trust this man. Then, she lowered her guns, holstering them on her belt.

Sarge turned and set all three of his shotguns to the side, leaning them against the nearby stone wall. Sarge then leaned down to the pile of rocks and began to toss them to the side, some flying off of the road, some near the side. Yuna walked over to the fallen Tidus and turned him over to his back. She put her hands on either side of her love's head. Relieved again, she found that he was still breathing. Yuna reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a small blue vial. Tilting Tidus's head, she poured the contents into Tidus's mouth and tilted his head again to send it down his throat. Yuna saw the damage from Sarge's fists heal up, but Tidus did not regain consciousness. Yuna sat, staring a Tidus for a few moments. Sarge was still working behind her, extracting those caught under the rubble. After a bit of time, Yuna stood up and turned around, walking towards Sarge. Upon looking down at the rubble, a sudden realization struck her. She turned her head to Sarge, and said, "This is what happened last night on the boat." "Yep." Sarge replied. He tossed aside the last of the rocks covering those underneath. He knelt down to Ace's side and put his index and middle fingers on his wrist and pressed down. After a few moments, Sarge stood up, picking up Ace and Paine from the dirt. Sarge carried the two down the road towards Djose and set them down by a large rock on the side, and repeated this step with Rikku and Ironsight. During this time, Yuna had spent her time by Tidus, on her knees and rest his head on her lap. She heard large footsteps behind her. She felt Sarge standing behind her, and his voice came a second later. "I need to move him." said Sarge. Reluctantly, Yuna stood up. Sarge grabbed Tidus and slung him over his shoulder and carried him over to the rock where everyone else had been laid out. After setting Tidus down on the ground, Sarge grabbed his shotguns and then sat down on the rock. He sighed, then took off his jacket. Yuna walked over and sat on the stone as well, sitting close to Tidus.

Sarge looked over at Yuna. "Can I see your pistols?" he asked. Yuna paused for a moment, then handed her handguns to Sarge. Sarge took both and put one on his lap. In his right hand he held the gun. He studied the gun for a moment before he let the clip of the gun slide out into his empty hand. Sarge dismantled the gun into multiple pieces, which Sarge studied. Yuna was a little nervous at first. Sarge looked over at her then back at the dismantled pistol. "Tiny Bees, right?" asked Sarge. Yuna nodded. "Do they have names?" Sarge asked. Yuna stared for a moment. "Abe and Auroch." she replied. "Who's Abe?" asked Sarge as he assembled the gun quickly. Yuna said, "Uh... That's the team that Tidus played for back home." Sarge looked over as he assembled the gun and slid the clip back in. He handed both guns back to her and nodded. "Those are both very nice." he asked. Yuna set her pistols to the side and looked over at Sarge's shotguns. "What kind of guns do you have?" she asked. Sarge picked up one of his clip-fed shotguns and handed it over to Yuna. As soon as it left Sarge's hands, Yuna felt the weight of this gun. It felt more like she was holding a small cannon than a shotgun. Upon closer inspection, Yuna discovered that the shotgun was worn in, in a sense. There were dents and dings along the gun. Along where the magazine would be, there were hundreds of small deep cuts in the metal the gun was made out of, cutting through the black outer color and revealing a dull gray metal underneath. "They're called the Sargeguns." said Sarge. Yuna looked at Sarge. Sarge immediately shook his head. "I didn't name them. Blame Ace and Ironsight." Sarge looked at the Sargeguns and said, "Their names are Jonas and Lloyd." Yuna handed the gun she was holding back to Sarge. "Who are they?" she asked. "Well, Lloyd was an old commander of mine, and Jonas is a very old friend." Yuna paused, then pointed at the sawn-off. "What about that one?" she asked. Sarge smiled, pulling out the sawn-off shotgun and handed it to Yuna. This one, oddly, was nearly the same weight, if not heavier, than the Sargegun she was holding. "This one's Ripper." boasted Sarge, wearing a wide smile. Yuna studied this gun for a moment. This one was worn in as well, and she could tell that though it was nearly half the size of one of the Sargeguns, it was roughly the same weight of one. She could tell that the barrels were made out of a very dense material and that the handle was weighted down. Though it was heavy, unwieldy, and the kick would probably destroy Yuna if she used it with one hand, it was surprisingly balanced.

"That's the result of a failed weapon I designed for Ironsight." Sarge explained as Yuna handed the gun back to him. Sarge admired the gun before setting it to the side, and continued his explaination. "I was trying to make an anti-armor weapon but he didn't like how it turned out. He bitched about how heavy it was. I wasn't about to let a good material go to waste. So, I hacked the barrel in half, replicated the firing mechanism I used for the original rifle, stacked them on top of each other, and turned it into a shotgun." Yuna looked over at Sarge. "You made all of these?" she asked. Sarge nodded. "All the guns that we use." said Sarge, letting out a yawn. "Ace uses the Mage Hands, Mer and Neb, and Ironsight uses a gun called the Kingslayer." he continued, scratching his belly. Sarge looked down and was reminded that he was wounded by Rikku and Paine in the recent fight. Sarge ripped off his shirt and bunched it up. Taking the flask out of his jacket, Sarge poured some of the drink onto the cloth and took a drink himself. He dabbed the cloth on his wounds. "Uh... Why aren't you healing them?" she asked, somewhat puzzled. "It's evidence." he said, taking another drink from the flask. Sarge's eyes darted to the side. He grabbed ahold of Ripper and took aim at what he saw.

Yuna turned her head and saw two people standing down the road. A young raven-haired girl, and a slender armored man with short brown hair. It seemed as though their images were fleeting and occasionally, a pyrefly would appear and float around their bodies. Yuna's eyes widened. "Wait!" she said. Sarge paused for a moment and sighed. "Lady Yuna." said the girl, bowing her head. Yuna stood up and bent into a short bow. Sarge looked at Yuna, then back at the two on the road. "Friends of yours?" he asked. Yuna looked at Sarge. "They're fayth." she replied, looking back at them. Sarge lowered his weapon and sighed. "Are they going to be haunting us? I don't have the alcohol to deal with ghosts right now..." he muttered. Sarge set Ripper to the side and pulled one of the Sargeguns onto his lap and began to dismantle it. Yuna walked over to the fayth. "I... I don't understand..." she said. The girl shook her head. "We're unsure of things ourselves, Lady Yuna." replied the girl. "Someone is again taking control of us." said the male fayth. "Using the power of the fayth, they are able to take control of us and are able to influence the actions of others." he added. Yuna looked back at her unconscious friends. "Lady Yuna... I know you've done more for Spira than anyone. But... we ask you to help us. Free us from our captor." plead the female fayth. There was a silence between the three.

"Of course." she said, smiling. "You helped me in my quest. I will free you all." The female fayth smiled, as did the male. The male spoke up. "Lady Yuna, there's something you should know about the spheres that you've found." he said. Yuna looked at him, intrigued. "They are our gathered pyreflies." he said. Yuna stood, confused. "Your pyreflies? I thought you were trapped in the faythstones." she asked. The female chimed in, saying, "The faythstones are a medium which our powers are channeled through. Since we allowed ourselves to become the fayth, we've been confined to the faythstones and the spheres. From here, we are able to lend summoners our aid, able to interact with other fayth, able to travel to the Farplane, and are able to interact with dreams." Yuna paused at this news and looked back at Tidus. She then turned back. "So, why are the spheres reacting to us?" she asked. "By defeating our aeon forms, we are able to lend our power to the person we deem most suitable." explained the male. "As long as you hold these spheres, we will protect you from the influence of our foe." added the female. The former summoner put the sphere back in the pouch she pulled it from. "Know that our enemy can take the control over anyone who doesn't have a sphere." said the female fayth. Yuna and the two fayth looked back down at those unconscious. "Then we need to recover the spheres quickly. I don't want something like this happening again." stated Yuna. "We believe in you, Lady Yuna." said the male fayth.

The male fayth turned his head towards Sarge. "Let it be known... Many are very scared of you." he said. Sarge began to assemble the Sargegun he had been cleaning the conversation, leaving a small number of tools sitting on the stone next to him. He didn't look back at the fayth. The fayth continued, with Yuna and the female fayth looking over as well. The male fayth continued, saying, "After what you did to the both of us, the fayth and the fiends both fear you. And I'm assuming that our captor has their own worries about you as well." Sarge shrugged. "Not like that hasn't happened before." said Sarge. The male fayth cleared his throat. "I know a bit about your past. You're not so different from me. We're both soldiers, devoted to a greater cause than ourselves. Noble hounds." he said. Sarge chuckled a bit. "A long time ago, I would've agreed with being called a 'noble hound'." replied Sarge. "But nowadays..." he said as he finished assembling the weapon. He slammed the clip back into the gun and looked at the fayth, saying, "I'm not much more than a rabid mutt, biting at the people who threaten my beat up old trinkets." There was a silence. Yuna, nor the fayth, knew how to respond to this. Sarge tilted his head. "Who are you guys anyway?" he asked. Yuna and the fayth smiled. Sarge waved a hand. "Forget about it." he said. The fayth looked at Yuna, who returned their gaze. "Lady Yuna, our time is up." said the female fayth. The fayth bent over into a bow, which Yuna did as well. The two fayth then disappeared, their images slowly fading away. Yuna turned back to him. "Those were the fayths of Valefor and Ifrit." she said, walking towards Tidus. Yuna knelt down beside Tidus. The former summoner grew frustrated then glared at Sarge. "How much longer are they going to be unconscious?" she asked. Sarge thought for a moment. "Not much longer. I didn't hit 'em too hard." he responded, putting the tools he used to clean his gun back into his coat. Yuna looked back down at Tidus, putting her hand on his forehead. Sarge took a drink from his flask and let out a belch. "You certainly didn't have a problem knocking them all out." said Yuna. "Don't think I get a kick out of beating up friends, Yuna." he replied.

Tidus's face contorted in pain. He let out a groan and opened his eyes. He managed a slight smile upon seeing Yuna. His smile faded and he shook his head. "Yuna," he said. "I'm so sorry..." He grabbed Yuna's hand in both of his. Yuna kissed the back of his right hand and shook her head. "It... it's okay." she said. Groans and moans of pain could be heard as the others began to stir. Sarge pulled a small blue vial out of his coat pocket and popped the top open. Ace rolled from his back onto his belly and pushed himself up to his knees. The pistol-wielding soldier looked up at Sarge. "Whoa... Who did that?" he asked. The others looked up and saw the wounds on Sarge. With two fingers, he pointed at Rikku and Paine. The two remained silent. Ace held his stomach in pain and stood up. "Sarge, this is the second time in the last few hours I've woken up and felt like this. What the hell's going on?" asked Ace. Sarge pointed at his wounds. "You guys did this to me." he said. The others looked at Sarge's wounds before he downed the contents of the vial and wounds began to slowly heal. Sarge reached into his coat and pulled out a white t-shirt nearly identical to the one he was wearing prior. Sarge whipped the shirt to the side, unfolding it and pulled it on. As soon as it was on, he reached into his coat, this time drawing out a cigar and his lighter.

Ironsight reached into his satchel and pulled out a fistful of red vials. He handed one to Ace, then tossed one to each of Tidus, Rikku, and Paine. Rikku was about to cry. "What hit us this time?" she groaned as she snatched the red vial out of the air. Paine took hers and scoffed a bit. "Elixirs... Very nice of you." she said, after which she took a drink of the contents. Ironsight drank his own and smirked. "I like to be prepared." he said as the pain melted away from his body. Ace drank his, then he seemed to be lost in though for a moment. He looked over at Sarge, who had a lit cigar in his mouth. "This is what happened on the boat last night." said Ace. Sarge nodded. "We were just told that someone is using the aeons to control people." said Sarge, puffing at his cigar. Ace thought for a moment. "You two aren't affected because of those spheres you found, right?" asked Ace. Sarge nodded. Ironsight, the Gullwings, and Tidus had recovered and were listening to the conversation between the two. "So we need to defeat possessed aeons in order to get the rest of the spheres." continued Ace. He continued, saying, "There's six left. Shiva in Macalania, Ixion in Djose, Yojimbo in the Cavern of Stolen Fayth, Bahamut in Bevelle, the Magus Sisters in Remiem Temple, and Anima at Baaj Temple." Yuna was somewhat impressed. "You're very well informed." she said. Ace grinned. "I take pride in that. Knowledge is power, after all." he said. Ace looked at the group. "I'm sure that some of us have already been picked by the aeons. The dream that Paine had would be an example of that." said Ace. He sighed, then continued, saying, "But, until we know a bit more about our situation, we're better off going an as we were." Ace looked at Yuna. "Don't you agree, Yuna?" he asked. Yuna nodded. "I do. After we get done at Djose, I'll talk with those at Bevelle. They may be able to help us out." she replied. Rikku grinned. "That's our Yunie!" she cheered. Paine sighed. "If they know that someone here was responsible for the destruction of one of the temples, it could make things difficult." She said. All fell silent except for a laughing Sarge. None of the others were looking at him. Ignoring Sarge, Tidus looked at the group. "Well, as long as Sarge doesn't go into anymore temples, we should be fine, right?" he said. Ironsight shook with silent laughter. Ace nodded in agreement. "It's a good idea. Though the temple at Besaid is pretty much taken care of with all of the eye-witnesses, Kilika is still being investigated. Once we get to Luca, things will be a bit simpler." he explained. Yuna looked at Ace, saying, "But Paine's right. If they figure out that Sarge was a key player in the destruction of Kilika's temple," She looked at Sarge. "Whether it was intentional or not," she added. Yuna looked back at the group and continued. "It really will complicate things." she said. Yuna opened her mouth to say something towards Sarge but she was interrupted by Ironsight. "Don't bother. Telling Sarge something along the lines of 'go easy' is like telling an explosion to only go off just a bit." he said pinching his fingers together. Yuna looked at Sarge and said in a stern tone, "Let's keep it simple. Don't wreck anymore temples."

Sarge put on his coat, puffing his cigar. "Let's get to Djose. We wouldn't want to keep Ixion waiting." he said. Sarge stood up and began to walk down the road again. The group stood up and began to walk down the road. As he stood up, Ironsight saw shell casings on the ground. Ironsight looked back at Sarge. "Why aren't you full of holes?" he asked. "Check your mag." said Sarge, not looking back. Ironsight ejected the clip of his rifle into his hand and looked at the bullets. Ace followed suit, and smiled when he looked into his clip. Ace dropped out the clip out of his other handgun and loaded both guns with a fresh clip. Ironsight put the clip he was holding into a pocket in his pants and loaded a fresh clip from his messenger bag. "I didn't know you knew what a blank was." quipped Ace.

"We've got a bit of a ways to go before we get to the temple." said Tidus. He looked up at Sarge. "Mind telling us what happened on the ferry last night?" Sarge puffed his cigar as he began to retell the events of the previous evening.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

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The moon was just disappearing over the horizon. Another morning on the sea was near. The sun had yet to make its presence known, and the moon provided a small amount of illumination on the surface of the sea. Waves gently rocked the ferry. All was quiet in the passenger dorms. Outside of the rooms where the Gullwings, the Deadboys, and Tidus slept, Sarge was asleep.

_When you've been fighting as much as I have, for as long as I have, and have had more than a few brushes with death, you learn a few things..._

Slumped against a wall in the passenger dorms, Sarge slowly began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the dimly lit corridor. Sarge yawned and began to stand up, pushing off from the wall as he did. Sarge looked up and down the hallway for a moment, then turned back to the doors of the rooms for his companions. He leaned in close and heard someone snoring. Satisfied with what he heard, Sarge stepped away from the door, and looked back down the hallway.

_Early on, I developed a sense of... perception... if you want to call it that. I can sniff out bad guys, ambushes, stuff like that. If nothing else, I can tell when something isn't right, and rarely am I wrong about these sorts of things..._

Sarge yawned and reached into his coat for a cigar and his lighter, but couldn't find a cigar in his pockets. After moments of fruitless searching, he let out a sigh and began to walk down the corridor, towards the storage area.

_It's usually my instincts that wake me up, but strong liquor, the smell of good cooking, and the urge to take a crap will do it too. I wasn't thirsty, nobody was cooking anything, and I pinched a loaf before I went to bed. So, this one's on the instincts. _

Sarge entered the storage area. Far in the back was the stryker, still in place after Sarge had parked it. Sarge walked up to the back of the vehicle and opened a small panel, and pressed a button. The back of the stryker opened up slightly, allowing Sarge to climb inside. Sarge walked over to the locker with his name on it and opened it up. Inside the locker, empty liquor bottles, smashed boxes of cigars, live shotgun ammunition, and a grenade were cluttered up inside. Sarge reached into a box of cigars, pulled out a handful, and stuffed them in his coat pockets, keeping one out and walking out the stryker. Sarge smacked the button and closed up the stryker.

_What? Figured I'd have a smoke as well._

Sarge held the cigar in his teeth and produced his wick lighter from his pocket. As he was about to torch the end of his cigar, he paused and looked around.

_It seemed odd that by this point I hadn't encountered anyone on the ship. I figured that by now I'd run into someone with the crew, or some jackass telling me to smoke on the deck._

Sarge snapped the lighter shut and walked down the corridor to the staircase, sighing as he did.

_That was the last thing I needed...._

The large man stepped up to the deck of the ship and immediately set fire to end of his cigar. He took a large puff, smiling upon tasting the cigar. As he exhaled the smoke, Sarge admired the cigar as he held it in his thumb and index finger. He bit down on the cigar and walked to the bow of the boat.

_So, what would you think? I'm on a boat where I haven't seen any crew members or passengers up for a walk in the morning._

Sarge looked around for a moment, noticing that none of the lifeboats had been deployed. He looked over the edge and into the water. The ferry was moving somewhat faster than it was when the ship had first departed from Kilika.

_I heard the machinery that turns the screws on the ferry. There's nobody around. This couldn't be a ghost ship. There'd be evidence of ghosts, or at least some sort of mean ass spirit. No blood, no bodies, no disemboweled people walking around. If someone was haunting the ferry, they were doing a shitty job of it. I mean, I was in this backwater town on a mission once and actually was sent to investigate this haunted house. Well... it was rumored to be haunted. There was some sick bastard hiding in there. Anyway, it really was haunted. I walked in and the desk attacked me, amongst a bunch of other things. So, I went to a shop, got some tools, made some thermite_, _and... What are you looking at me like that for? Huh? Oh yeah! The ferry... Wait... Why do you wanna talk about that Guado guy? No use talking... Oh. The boat... Right._

The cigar-smoking man turned back to stare at the waves.

_So, this was just strange, right? Where was everyone? If people were moving around in the passenger dorms, I would've noticed if that many people were moving around..._

As Sarge took more and more draws from the cigar, taking in the sounds and smells from the waves lapping and churning against the boat, he leaned on the guard rail. Sarge heard light footsteps behind him and turned his head. Ten feet from him, spread out amongst the deck, were the passengers and crew of the ferry. All eyes were on Sarge. The cigar-smoking man turned around and studied the people looking at him. They weren't moving, their faces expressionless, their eyes hollow.

_Need I say more?_

"You want me to put this out?" asked Sarge, removing the cigar from his mouth and raising an eyebrow. The people on the deck ran at Sarge, who pitched the cigar butt off the side of the ship. The Deadboy was mobbed by the people on the deck, piling on top of him. Sarge still stood though, and burst out of the mob with a grunt, throwing people in all directions.

_No time to think in this situation._

Sarge immediately spun around and sent his fist flying at the first person he saw, knocking a crew member out with a blow to the head. Sarge began to let the fists fly, sending the passengers and crew to the floor. Two of them rushed up behind Sarge attempting to grab him. But they were unable to overtake him, as Sarge quickly shook off both of them. Wheeling around, Sarge grabbed either one of the assailants by the back of their head. The two were allowed a quick gasp before Sarge smashed the two together, sending them both to the ground, knocked out. More people charged at Sarge, who dispatched each with a well placed fist. Moments later, the people that had assembled on the deck had all been knocked unconscious. Sarge groaned and surveyed the damage for a moment before walking back to the staircase leading to the passenger dorms. He heard footsteps coming up the stair case and waited for the person to walk up. However, the footsteps stopped. Sarge readied himself. Something leapt from the shadows of the staircase Sarge managed to catch whatever it was that flew at him and threw it on the deck, smashing the planks on the deck.

Upon looking down, Sarge was confused with what he saw. Motionless in the broken planks was Rikku. "What the..." he muttered. Before he could finish that thought, Sarge was kicked in the side of the head. Sarge shrugged off the hit and spun around, planting his fist into the stomach of the unseen assailant. After looking at the person in question, Sarge frowned upon seeing Ace, holding his gut. Sarge rushed forward and struck Ace in the jaw with a powerful uppercut. Ace was lifted off of his feet by the force of the blow and landed with a thud on to the deck. Sarge gave a quick look around him, making sure that he wasn't going to get ambushed a third time. Sarge gave a glance to both Ace and Rikku before moving towards the stairs, this time at a faster pace. Heavy footsteps announced Sarge's descent into the passenger dorms. Sarge immediately noticed the doors to all of the rooms had been opened. Sarge began to move down the corridor and immediately ducked as he heard a footstep. Sarge dodged a heeled leather boot that smashed through the wall of the corridor. Sarge wheeled around immediately and saw Paine, standing with her sword drawn. Sarge heard footsteps behind him and turned so that he could easily see both of his assailants. Standing at the other end of the hallway, holding Brotherhood, was Tidus. Upon viewing the blitzball player, Sarge immediately noticed that, unlike the others on this boat who had attacked him, who had shown no emotions, Tidus was breathing heavily, with beads of sweat running down his forehead and face.

_Tidus, you looked like you were having a bad dream._

Sarge heard Paine moving towards him and saw Tidus begin to advance as well. Grabbing both of his Sargeguns, gripping them by the stocks and wielding them like clubs, he stood ready, his eyes darting from side to side, watching as both drew near. Just as they got within reach of Sarge, the wall behind Sarge exploded, as a kitchen knife-wielding Ironsight tackled Sarge from behind. Sarge stumbled forward slightly before striking Ironsight in the head with his elbow. Ironsight reeled back, clutching the area Sarge had struck as Sarge spun around, clocking Ironsight in thechest with a Sargegun. Ironsight fell back into the room he attacked from as Paine and Tidus both took swings at Sarge. Sarge batted their attacks away with his shotguns, trying to spot an opportunity to strike at the two. The heavily armed studied his attackers for a moment, acquainting himself with their fighting styles. Paine took a powerful stance when fighting, though her style was filled with an subtle grace and fluidity. Tidus was a nimble fighter, striking quickly and accurately with speed and style.

_Both of you are great fighters. I knew if I didn't time this right, I could get carved up by either of you._

Paine swung her sword in an upward slash, an attack which Sarge glanced with his shotgun. As Paine tried to regain her balance, Sarge turned and attacked Tidus with the Sargeguns, Tidus blocked the first of the pair, but was struck on the shoulder with the second. Tidus yelped in pain, dropping his guard in the process. Sarge leaned over and smashed his head against Tidus's for a thunderous headbutt and sent Tidus to the ground, dazed. Sarge whipped around, just in time to see a charging Paine, who attacked with a downward slash. Sarge blocked with a Sargegun and the two locked weapons. Though Paine was formidably strong, her's was no match for Sarge, who overpowered Paine, shoving her back. The leather-clad Gullwing tried to regain her footing, but was too late as Sarge struck her in the stomach with a Sargegun. Paine gasped and fell to her knees before collapsing on the ground.

Sarge immediately holstered the Sargeguns and walked into the room where the ladies were sleeping. Before he reached the door, the ship violently shook, as though it had just hit something. Sarge looked in the room and saw Yuna sprawled out on the floor.

_I'm assuming that whomever was controlling you thought that you'd be an easier target to take care of, with you being asleep and all._

The heavily-armed man walked over and knelt down, turning Yuna over. Sarge could tell she was still alive, and could tell that she had been knocked unconscious. He wasn't sure if it was through magical or physical means, but was shaken from his studying by the ship, again shaken as though it was struck by something. Sarge stood up and rushed out the door, stepping over the bodies of Paine, Tidus, and Ironsight.

_You were alive. That was enough for me. I had more pressing issues to tend to, like, what the fuck was hitting the ship._

The ship shook again. Sarge had to lean against the wall to keep his balance on the staircase, and after the hit, Sarge ran up the rest of the staircase, coming up to the open deck of the bow. From the wind against his face, Sarge could feel that the ship was moving very fast, and he could tell that from the build of the ship, this wasn't a speed it could attain by itself. The bodies on the deck had been shifted to different spots. Sarge assumed that the force of whatever was hitting the shift was the cause for this. But then he saw something move out of sight, off of the deck of the ship. Sarge walked over to the side of the ship and looked down, but saw only water as the ferry cut through it. Sarge then heard something from behind him, something shooting up from the water. He whipped around and took into view four long, thick, fleshy, tentacles, the tips of which rose high above the ferry. Sarge immediately dove out of the way as two of the tentacles shot down towards him, striking the part of the deck that Sarge had been standing on and shattering it to pieces. Rolling on to his feet, Sarge immediately drew the Ripper and looked at the four tentacles. The tips of the four of them opened, revealing fanged maws which began to open and shut, anticipating the moment they would rip into their selected prey. Sarge raised an eyebrow at the sight, took aim at the nearest tentacle, then fired both barrels of the Ripper, sending two slugs into the nearest of the four. The mouth on that tentacle let out a shriek as Sarge holstered the Ripper and drew the Sargeguns. The four tentacles each took a swing at Sarge. The Deadboy vaulted over one and ducked under two, but was struck by the fourth, the one he had shot. Sarge was floored by the hit and fell to the deck. Immediately, he stood up and began to fire the Sargeguns, blasting the tentacles with a barrage of shotgun slugs. The tentacles wailed and flailed up into the air. Sarge continued to pump them full of shotgun slugs before quickly reloading his Sargeguns and taking aim again. As he was aiming, the tentacles shot back down into the water. Still wary, Sarge looked around. He heard something shoot out of the water and was met with another tentacle, which struck him and sent him flying across the deck. The heavily-armed man was thrown through part of the cabin of the ferry. Upon a pile of splintered planks, Sarge leapt back to his feet and charged out of the cabin. He arrived on the deck, with no tentacles in sight.

Sarge walked towards the edge of the ship and looked into the water a second time. The ferry was moving alarmingly fast. After a moment of study, Sarge realized that the ship was moving at an angle. Sarge looked up and could see the coastline. Glaring down at the ship, however, was a large cliff face.

_We were gonna crash headfirst into that thing. Then our mysterious assailant made itself known._

Manifesting itself in his mind, Sarge heard a voice, a demonic one. "_Those who do not obey must be destroyed!_" it yelled. Sarge paused for a moment, looking around. "Uh... I guess you're the one causing all of this?" he said aloud. He was answered by a loud noise in his mind, like that of shattering glass. Sarge winced from the sound, letting out a groan. Sarge slung the Sargeguns over his back and reached under his jacket, unfastening one of the holsters he wore underneath. He pulled out a holster which held two metal canisters and a few grenades. Sarge walked over to the frontmost part of the bow and looked over the edge of the ferry. Sarge pulled out the black detonator and dropped the holster into the water. A split second later, Sarge pressed the button on the detonator. The combined power of the explosives in the water launched the end of the ship up, and Sarge could hear a demonic scream in his ears. "One problem solved..." muttered Sarge, looking towards the back of the ship then looking back where the ship was heading. The cliff face was approaching quickly. Sarge ran to the cabin, and searched for the controls and the helm. To his disappointment, both the controls and helm had been destroyed from Sarge flying through the walls in his fight.

Not wasting any time, Sarge ran back down into the passenger dorms, through the corridors and into the cargo hold. Sarge opened the stryker from the back and jumped inside the vehicle and released the brakes and dropped the Sargeguns, and the Ripper down to the floor of the vehicle. He launched himself out of the stryker was just about to close up and rushed back upstairs to the deck. The cliff was close now.

_I know I there was no way to stop this thing, so..._

Sarge began to grab people and sling them over his shoulders. He then carried them back down into the passengers dorms, scattering them out amongst the floors. As soon as he grabbed the last of the bodies, Sarge rushed back up to the deck and looked at the cliff, which was only seconds away. The Deadboy ran towards the side of the boat and launched himself over the side. With a splash, Sarge sank into the water, but quickly rose up and began treading as he watched the ferry speed into the side of the cliff. The boat slammed into the rock with the sickening smash. Wooden planks flew everywhere, and the side of the ferry was blown open as the stryker was launched out and onto the beaches. Sarge watched the destruction with a smile on his face. As soon as the ferry had rested itself on the rocks next to the cliff, Sarge began to paddle towards the beach.

* * *

Ace paused at the story. "A giant fiend with tentacles? What was it?" he asked. Sarge shrugged. "Hell if I know, but some explosives fixed that thing. Nothing like a well placed grenade." he said, smiling. "So the ship wasn't really abandoned?" asked Tidus. Frustrated, Yuna looked at Sarge. "Why did you lie?" she asked. Sarge looked back at Yuna. "If you knew there were people alive on the ferry, you'd suggest we help them. We really don't have time for that." Sarge responded. Yuna stopped, yelling, "What if they all died!?!" The rest of the group stopped, all eyes on Yuna. Sarge turned around and puffed his cigar. "Maybe some of them did. I know that if that I didn't move them from on top of the boat, they'd be scraping remains off of the cliff face. And I'm pretty sure I didn't kill any of them. Some of them may have sustained injuries, but that's much better than being dead." explained Sarge. There was silence for a moment before Sarge took another puff and said, "I'm going for a walk." He walked past the group. "I'm not allowed in the temples anyway. Might as well go pick up the stryker." he said. As Sarge walked away, the rest of the group began to walk further down the road to the Djose temple.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

* * *

Rikku smiled as Djose temple came into sight. "I remember the last time we all came here, Yunie." she reminisced. "It's where we learned you had a crush on Gippal." commented Paine. While Rikku glared at Paine, the rest in the group were laughing. Ironsight merely smiled. "It's only natural. A girl like yourself attracted to a powerful man. He'd be insane if the feeling wasn't mutual." Ironsight said cooly. Ace shook his head as Rikku went from glaring to giggling. "Flattery gets you nowhere." Ace quipped. Ironsight cracked a smile at Ace, retorting, "Speak for yourself. There aren't a lot of women that are into history nerds." Ace spun around, replying, "Not many dig guys who spend too much time cleaning their gun." Ironsight raised an eyebrow. "You should be glad Sarge didn't hear that." he said. Ace laughed out loud, and the rest of the group couldn't help but smile. "Well.. haha... Getting back on topic..." Ace said, still smiling. "I remember the Machine Faction kept its headquarters in the abandoned temple, but the picked up and left a few months ago." said Ace. "Why is that?" asked Tidus, looking at Ace. "The move was before Gippal dissolved the Machine Faction so that he could work with Baralai and Nooj to unite Spira.. Could be they were just taking care of loose ends." Ace said.

Yuna looked at Ace, asking, "What do you think?" she asked. Ace looked up, pondering, before he responded, saying, "There wouldn't be any reason to move the headquarters when Gippal knew that the factions would be disbanded. Either something happened in the temple, or they needed to move to have a little more room for something that they were working on." Rikku paused for a moment. "I remember that they were working on that 'Experiment' thing when we came here last." said the Al Bhed girl. Ace chimed in, saying, "Then they probably left the area because their prized project got too big for the place they had at the moment." Tidus looked at Ace. "Do you think they're still building it?" he asked. Ace nodded. "Without a doubt. No reason they'd let the efforts of the people in the deserts go to waste." he said. "The best question to ask is what do they plan to use it for?" said Ace as Djose temple came into view. "Spira isn't really in need of a war machine, so to speak." said Ace. "This is the place?" said Ironsight, lifting his sniper rifle off of his shoulder and gripped it in both hands. Ace looked over at Ironsight. Ironsight shrugged. "We've already been ambushed once by something coming out of a temple." he said. Ace thought for a moment, then nodded, drawing one of his handguns. Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, and Paine followed suit, and the six of them were armed as they walked towards the temple.

Ironsight and Ace pushed in the dual stone doors by their shoulders, gripping their firearms and scanning the room as they slowly pushed in the door. Save for the beam of light that entered the temple from the open doors, the interior of the structure was lit by electric blue hues of varying intensity from different sources through the temple. Glowing decorations and statues, old electrodes occasionally crackling from the power that still coursed through them, and a jumping bolt of static from statue to statue lit the room. Ironsight and Ace opened the doors wide enough so two people could fit through at once, allowing Tidus and Yuna, and Rikku and Paine to enter. Ace and Ironsight moved further into the room, looking around as both of them moved towards doors on either side of a large staircase set at the back of the room. Ace reached his door and pressed against it before opening it, with his gun still drawn. He stepped inside and vanished for a moment. Ironsight pressed his ear to the door then opened it and nudged it open with his foot while still gripping his rifle, then stepped inside.

Tidus and the Gullwings walked into the temple. Tidus chuckled a bit as he looked around. Yuna looked over at Tidus. "What's so funny?" she asked. Tidus smiled as he looked at Yuna. "I remember when we were here and you woke up late in the morning." he replied. Rikku and Paine looked back at Yuna and Tidus. Tidus looked over at Rikku and Paine, saying, "I woke her up because she overslept and everyone made fun of her bed-head. Even Auron!" he proclaimed. Paine smiled and Rikku started to giggle. Yuna withdrew a bit. "Sounds like Yunie." said Rikku. Yuna let out sigh. "Everyone still picks on me." she said.

Ace and Ironsight returned from their rooms. "Clear." said Ironsight. "Clear." echoed Ace. "Looks like someone left the power on." quipped Ironsight. There was a dead silence for a moment as Ace stopped walking, shaking his head. All eyes were on Ironsight as Ace said, "That's bad... even for you." Ironsight made no reply, and instead turned and looked towards the staircase leading up to stone double doors. "Yuna, you've been in here before. Are we going up or down to fight Ixion?" Yuna paused for a moment. "That staircase leads to the Cloister of Trials. It takes us up to the chamber of the fayth." she replied. "Since he hasn't come after us, Ixion will be waiting for us up there." said Ace, who ejected the clip in his pistol, peered to see how many rounds were left in it, and then put the clip back into his handgun. "Everyone make sure you're ready to go." he added as he turned and walked towards the staircase. The others gripped their weapons and followed Ace, walking into the halls. Dim lights near the floor illuminated the hall enough for the group to see where they were heading. At the end of the hallway was a large lift.

"You guys... Two of the fayth came and talked to me." spoke Yuna. Ace looked over. "While we were unconscious?" he asked. Yuna nodded. "They told me that the fayth are being controlled by someone." replied Yuna. "Is it Shuyin?" asked Paine. Yuna shook her head. "They don't know. They don't know who... or what... is doing this." the former summoner replied. Yuna looked at the rest of the group, saying, "They were the ones who told us that the spheres were protecting us from whatever's controlling the fayth." "I'm guessing that the two that talked to you are the aeons we've defeated." said Ironsight. "Yeah. Valefor and Ifirit." she replied. The group neared the end of the hall and stepped on the lift that was there. As they rose, Ironsight asked, "Did they mention why whatever it is that's doing this isn't constantly possessing us?"

There was a silence as the lift rose into the circular shaft. Ace looked at the rest of the group. "Let's think about that for a moment." said Ace. "If they could take control of all of us at any given time, why aren't we all dead?" he asked. "Something similar happened when we were on Besaid." continued Ace. Rikku perked up, saying, "We weren't possessed there!" Ironsight said, "So, what you're saying is that we can't be possessed while somebody else is?" Ace shook his head. "Not entirely. I think the power of whatever does that is used up the stronger a single entity is." he said. "Like what happened on the ferry." said Tidus. Yuna nodded. "Everyone but Sarge and I were taken over." she said. "So it's not so much that it can only take control of one person, but that it takes a certain amount of power for a particular subject." explained Ace. Ace smiled, asking, "That make sense?" There were nodding heads among the group. Yuna spoke up again. "They also said that the fayth and the fiends were scared of Sarge." she said. "You're not?" asked Paine. Ace and Ironsight laughed as Tidus, Rikku, and Yuna looked at Paine. "You saw what he did on Besaid, and who knows what he did to beat Ifrit." said the leather-clad Gullwing. "We don't need him here to beat an aeon. We can take care of Ixion, right?" asked Tidus. The lift stopped at the top of the shaft it had risen through, bringing the six to an open room with electricity running through the walls, dimly lighting the room. "I'm offended you even had to ask." said Ironsight as he stepped off he platform.

"Never forget your own abilities and don't forget that Ironsight and myself are Deadboys as well." said Ace. The group stepped off of the lift. Yuna put a free hand on the wall closest to her. She could tell that the previous inhabitants of this temple had done some remodeling. Some of the walls that were there when she had been here as a summoner had been removed, and more had been removed since she was a Gullwing. Unlike the room below, this floor had multiple windows which illuminated every part. Yuna could see farther into the temple and saw the door to the chamber of the fayth. "Things look a bit different each time I come back here." said Yuna. Tidus looked around. "This place seems like one giant room." he said. Rikku studied the walls. "Some of the markings on the wall are new. Very new, in fact." commented Rikku. Ace asked, "'Very new' as in, 'removed as recent as yesterday' new?" Rikku nodded. "Ixion's ready for us." said Ironsight. Ace gripped his pistol in both hands, and the runes on it began to glow a watery blue. "Everybody be careful. Ixion has a big advantage on us." said Ace. The six of them stepped off the lift, weapons still drawn. As soon as the last one left the platform, it shot back down the shaft it had come up.

Hoof beats could be heard. Bolts of electricity bounced through some of the hallways. Walking into view, an equine creature with black and white hair. A single curved yellow horn jutted from its head. The creature turned and stared down the six. It reared back and let out a whinny that echoed through the floor. Slamming its hooves back on the ground, the creature began to charge. "There's Ixion!" yelled Tidus. Ace began firing bullets, which exploded into water as soon as they came into contact with the charging Ixion. Ironsight fired multiple bullets at the aeon, which ripped into Ixion's body. Yuna aimed both of her handguns at Ixion and let fly a barrage of lead. Despite the onslaught of bullets that Ixion was being struck with, the aeon didn't stop, and kept charging. "Scatter!" yelled Tidus. The group split as Ixion neared them. To the left ran Ironsight, Ace, and Tidus, and the right, the Gullwings. Ixion screeched to a halt and let out another whinny. When it slammed its hooves on the floor, a wave of electricity rose up and washed through the floor. The six who were fighting the aeon were each struck with this wave and were sent to the floor from the force of it, all of them letting out a shout of pain.

"What the hell was that!?!" Ironsight yelled, rolling back on his feet and taking aim. Two gunshots rang out into the air as Ironsight fired two bullets at Ixion's head, and the aeon flinched as the two bullets struck it. "What's the plan, Ace?" asked Ironsight. The others launched themselves back up to their feet. "Lure him into charging into a wall. After he stops, hit him! Get in there and get away before he has a chance to hit you!" replied Ace. Ixion swung the horn on its head up and whipped it back down, firing off a clear circular disc that spun and arced around the walls in the floor, heading straight towards the Gullwings. The three managed to dive out of the way in time to avoid the attack. The disc smashed into the wall, dropping chunks of stone to the floor. Ixion reared back, its horn crackling with electricity. The aeon tapped its horn on the ground towards the Gullwings and the floor leading up to them began to crackle with lightning. The three ladies were caught in electrical explosion, yelling as they did. "Yuna!" screamed Tidus. He went to run for her, but Ironsight grabbed him by the shoulder. "Don't lose your focus, Tidus!" he yelled. Tidus elbowed Ironsight in the gut, broke his grip, and ran through the floor. "Shit." muttered Ace. Ixion singled out the blitzball star and began to charge Tidus. "Ironsight!" yelled Ace. Ironsight took aim, watching as Ixion rushed. Ace ran around behind Ixion and drew his second handgun. Tidus was mid-sprint when he saw Ixion bearing down on him. Yuna looked up and saw Tidus about to be ran through by Ixion's horn. "No!" she yelled. There was a gunshot and a spark flew off of Ixion's horn. The aeon shifted its head unwillingly and struck Tidus with the side of its skull. Tidus was lifted off of his feet and flew into a wall and smashed into it. He lay in a heap on the cold stone floor. Yuna stood up and began to fire at Ixion as fast as she could. Paine and Rikku hopped to their feet and rushed at Ixion, each letting off a few strikes from their weapons. Ironsight slammed another clip into his rifle and let loose multiple shots, each aimed at his head.

Ixion let out a shriek and whipped around, attempting to strike Rikku and Paine with its horn. Rikku nimbly jumped back and Paine glanced the attack with her sword. Rikku and Paine then split, running back to the sides. Paine kept out of Ironsight's line of fire as she grouped up with him. "Nice shot." she said. Ironsight merely smiled. Ixion looked on either side of itself before being shot in the side with globes of water. The aeon looked towards Ace, who kept firing. "Come on, bitch." declared Ace. Ixion began to charge. Ace kept firing, striking the aeon multiple times with bullets that exploded into water. As Ixion neared, Ace lowered his guns and crouched down, waiting. Ixion lowered its horn, intent on impaling Ace. As the horn was about to strike, the Deadboy launched himself out of the way, firing off a bullet that struck the aeon in its right eye. The aeon skidded to a halt, shaking its head. Ironsight and Yuna fired at the aeon again as Rikku and Paine rushed it. Ixion was struck with attacks from Rikku and Paine again as it tried to recover from Ace's attack. It swung its horn, trying desperately to fend off its attackers. Rikku and Paine were able to dodge the attacks aptly and kept striking Ixion as much as they could. Ixion reared up and slammed its hooves into the ground again, sending another wave of lightning through the room. It Ace, Rikku, and Paine were struck with the attack and immediately fell back. "Ironsight, Yuna! Hit him from the left side. Paine and Rikku, take the left!" yelled Ace. "If he keeps using that attack, we're dead!" yelled Ironsight, who was standing up from being knocked over by Ixion's wave attack. Yuna groaned as she stood up. The former summoner looked over at Tidus, who began to move. "You all right?" she asked. "Yeah..." Tidus said, weakly.

As Ace was retreating, he heard a voice over the radio. "You guys sound like you are having fun." Ace dove into cover and reloaded his pistols. "Yeah, Sarge. It's a real party up here. Why not come up and join us?" said Ace. "Ah. As much as I'd like to, I don't have an invitation. Besides, if it were a potluck, I'd be kicked out because I forgot the potato salad." replied Sarge. Ace smirked as Ironsight shook his head. Ixion began to charge electricity on his horn another time. "Crap, he's gonna electrify the floors! Everybody scatter!" declared Ace. Nothing else was needed, and the six of them fanned out. "You guys need some help? I've got the stryker's gun warmed up." said Sarge. "Hell no!" replied Ace. "We're not blowing holes into the temple!" added Ironsight. Sarge sighed. "All right. Standing by." he said. Ixion slammed the tip of his horn on the ground. Ace felt his hair stand up on end as the floor under his feet charged with electricity. Ironsight and Paine rushed out of the way as Ace jumped up and hung from a nearby window. He kicked off of the wall and launched himself away from the segment of the floor that released the charged electricity in a violent explosion.

Ace rolled as he hit the ground and was on his feet in an instant. Hoof beats could be heard as Ixion began to charge Ace, who opened fire on Ixion again. There was a blur from the side of the room and a flash of a blue announced Tidus attacking. After flipping through the air, Tidus brought Brotherhood down, slashing into Ixion's right side. The aeon stumbled and yelped. Ace shifted to the side as the aeon charged past and shot it in the left eye with another bullet. Ixion skidded to a halt, shaking its head from side to side. Rikku, Paine, and Tidus rushed Ixion, relentlessly attacking beast. Ironsight, Ace, and Yuna opened fire, careful to aim away from where their companions were attacking Ixion. Ixion wailed and spun around, flinging the attackers back. Tidus, Rikku, and Paine leapt back from the flailing aeon. Ixion let out another whinny, and his horn began to crackle with electricity. His horn exploded with electricity, sending Tidus, Rikku, and Paine flying back. Bolts of lightning flowed from Ixion's horn into an electrical orb hovering above the ground. "Get up!" yelled Ace. The three melee fighters scrambled to get up and fled away from the aeon as Ixion charged up his attack. "What are we supposed to do? He's gonna use THAT attack!" yelled Yuna. Ace gritted his teeth and loaded a fresh clip into both of his handguns. "Blue Bullets!" he yelled. Ace's handguns glowed brightly with blue runes. Ace took aim and fired repeatedly. The bullets struck the aeon and created gigantic explosions of water, enveloping Ixion. The aeon yelped, trying to keep its concentration as it charged up its attack. Ace unloaded his clips until finally, Ixioin flinched. The orb of electricity exploded, filling the floor with electricity. The six of them yelled in pain as Ixion fell to the ground. The Gullwings, Tidus, and the two Deadboys fell to the floor, breathing heavily. "What the hell, Ace!?!" yelled Ironsight. Ace sprung back up and rushed at Ixion. Ixion struggled to get back up, shaking his head from side to side. Ace dodged Ixion's horn and shoved the barrels of both guns up to the aeon's head. Two bullets exploded into water, sending Ixion to the side. The explosion flung back Ace, slamming him into a wall. Ixion began to dissipate into pyreflies. Breathing heavily, Ace looked over to the rest of the group. "We were going to take damage anyway if he'd have gotten that thing charged up. We lessen the damage this way." he said.

Ace tilted his head back. "Everyone... all right?" Ace said, trying to catch his breath. "Hurt, but otherwise all right." said Tidus, sitting up. The group began to recover. "What the hell's going on up there?" said Sarge over the radio. "Just got done with a light show, Sarge." replied Ace as he began to stand up. "Your host give you any party favors?" asked Sarge. Ace shook his head, saying, "Haven't looked yet. Mind having some potions ready for us when we get back down? This guy did a number on us." "You got it. See you guys when you get down here." said Sarge. All six eventually made it to their feet. "I need a nap." groaned Rikku. "I've been hurt too much since I left Besaid." added the Al Bhed girl. Ironsight smirked. "If you're getting tired after a day away from home... you're in for a rough time." the sniper remarked. He rolled his neck and added, "We've got a long way to go, and we don't stop." Paine smirked at this remark while Rikku frowned. Tidus was about to fall after he stood upright. He was caught by Yuna, who held him up. "Are you okay?" she asked. Tidus groaned, barely able to hold Brotherhood. "I... ugh... feel like crap." he grunted. Ace began to search around the floor. One the ground, he saw a yellow sphere. Ace picked it up, and it began to glow brightly. "Mission accomplished, everyone." he said, managing a wide smile.

* * *

The stryker sat parked with the back opened up. Sitting inside on one of the benches was Sarge, eating a sandwich, his flask open and beside him. Sarge took a large bite from the sandwich and followed it with a drink from his flask. Near him was a box filled small rectangular objects wrapped in butcher paper. On the top layer of the box were crumpled up pieces of butcher paper. Next to the box were a trio of metal canteens. Sarge finished the sandwich in a few monstrous bites, and while chewing on the last mouthful of sandwich, he reached into the box and drew out another one, ripping off the butcher paper, crumpling it up and biting into the sandwich.

He heard footsteps and looked up, and into view came the six who defeated Ixion. Sarge studied them for a moment as they walked over to the stryker. "I thought only zombies shamble." said Sarge as he got up and walked out of the stryker. There were sounds of forced laughter from the six coming out of the temple. Sarge began laughing. Sarge opened one of the metal shutters by the press of a button, causing the shutter to withdraw down out of sight. "All right." said Sarge, finishing another sandwich. "I'll take your weapons and give you some food and potions." said Sarge. Ace climbed into the stryker and handed both of his pistols to Sarge, grabbed a sandwich and a small blue vial, and sat in the driver's seat of the stryker. Somewhat reluctantly, the Gullwings and Tidus entered the stryker and handed over their weapons. Sarge set all of the weapons inside the metal shutter he had just opened and handed each of them a sandwich and small blue vial. Ironsight was the last to enter, and didn't hand over his rifle. "What? Me too? Why?" he asked. "Because if I get shot, it's gonna make me mad." retorted Sarge. Ironsight tossed Sarge his rifle. "Knife too." added Sarge, holding his hand out. Ironsight grumbled, reaching behind him and drawing a kitchen knife from under his shirt. He dropped the knife in Sarge's hand and snatched a vial and a sandwich. Sarge set the weapons in the metal shutter and closed it by pushing a button. As soon as the shutter was closed, the stryker roared to life. Ace drove the stryker down the road, and the group was on their way to Luca. The seven of them drank their potions and began to eat their meal.

"Not bad, Sarge." said Ace. "What are these?" asked Rikku. Sarge was starting on another sandwich. After swallowing a bite, he replied, "Some must-go sandwiches." Ironsight bit into his sandwich, saying nothing as the others seemed slightly bewildered. "They're sandwiches made from any of the ingredients in the fridge." explained Sarge. "There was plenty of bread and meat on the boat, so I fixed us up some food. Figured people would be hungry." said Sarge before taking another large bite. The Gullwings and Tidus nibbled at their sandwiches. Tidus smiled. "These aren't half bad." said the blitzball star. "Not bad at all." echoed Rikku. Paine and Yuna nodded in silence. Ironsight chuckled. "Sarge is a horrible cook. He can't make anything except sandwiches and hot dogs." said Ironsight. Ironsight looked over at Sarge. "He can ruin cereal." he said. Sarge shook his head. "Putting bourbon on bran flakes is the only way I can eat that crap." he said.

There was a bit of silence as the group ate their lunch. After a short while, the only one still eating was Sarge, who was slowly running out of sandwiches. Yuna looked at Sarge, who didn't return her gaze. "What's going to happen to the people on the ferry?" she asked. Sarge took a drink from his flask then looked back at Yuna. "I'd guess they'll be all right, given that they wrecked near a commonly traveled road." he replied. "What happens when they tell someone you beat them up?" asked Yuna. Sarge pointed at Tidus. "Other than myself, Tidus was the only who had any memories of me beating everyone down. A lot of them probably took a shot to the head. So one man taking down an entire ship's crew and passengers will be written off as a hallucination or bad dream." Sarge retorted. "While there's always a chance someone may identify Sarge, it's likely when they do, they'll be possessed." said Ace from the front of the vehicle. Sarge continued eating his sandwich as the rest of the group were silent. Rikku shifted around uncomfortably for a few moments before looking at Ironsight. "So? You're pretty good with your gun, right?" she asked. Ironsight looked at Rikku, somewhat curious. "What's the best shot you ever pulled off?" she asked. A small smirk crept across Ironsight's face as he turned his eyes skyward. "There are a lot of 'em." he said. "I think one of my favorites was the time I shot a salvo of missiles out of the air." Ironsight said, nonchalantly. Immediately, the Gullwings and Tidus shot a glance over at Sarge, who didn't react. After a few seconds, he looked up and shrugged. "What? You want me to tell you he didn't do it?" asked Sarge. "He saved my ass doing it." commented Ace. Rikku, Tidus, and Yuna were wide-eyed with amazement as they looked back at Ironsight. "Really?" the three of them said. Ironsight's smirk grew a little wider. "That's quite the claim." Paine said staring at Ironsight. Ironsight looked over at Paine. "Challenging my skill, are you?" he said. Sarge pressed a button, opening the metal shutter that stored Ironsight's rifle. Sarge grabbed the rifle as Ironsight opened the back of the still moving stryker. Tidus looked at Sarge. "You think this is a good idea?" he asked. "If we don't let him do this, we'll have to listen to him bitch all the way to Luca." responded Sarge.

Ironsight took his rifle from Sarge and watched as the road spread out behind the stryker. He grabbed the empty clip from his pants pocket and tossed it out of the stryker. Ironsight watched as the clip got further and further away. After a good bit of distance was put between the stryker and the clip, Ironsight raised his rifle and, aiming with one hand, fired shot. The clip popped up in the air, Ironsight fired another shot, hitting the clip again and sending it up a little higher. The sniper fired off a few more shots, raising the constantly falling clip back up into the air. With his last shot, Ironsight looked away and pulled the trigger. The bullet sent the clip flying off the road. Ironsight threw his gun at Sarge, who snatched it out of the air and put it back into the shutter. Two buttons were pressed and the stryker and the shutter closed. Ironsight sat back down on the bench, basking in the admiration from the Gullwings and Tidus. The four cheered for the sniper's feat. "Where did you learn to shoot like that?" asked Yuna. "Don't answer that, Sarge." snapped Ironsight immediately after Yuna asked. Sarge just smiled. Ace chuckled from up front. Ironsight looked at the four across from him. "I got into guns when I was pretty young, and I haven't stopped since." said the sniper. Yuna tilted her head. "Where did you get guns?" she asked. "Well, my parents weren't followers of Yevon... But they weren't Al Bhed either." he replied. Ironsight tilted his head back. "And I'll leave it at that." he added. After a moment, Yuna looked at Sarge. "You guys said you were Crusaders?" From the front, Ace spoke. "We were." he said. "Until they tried to get us to go along with Operation Mi'Hen." Ace added. Sarge looked at the Gullwings and Tidus. "We knew the op was bad." Sarge commented as he finished his sandwich.

"What exactly did you guys do?" asked Tidus. "The Crusaders were mostly Yevonites. How did you get away with carrying all these guns?" asked Paine. Sarge smiled. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the maesters of Yevon had more than a few dirty little secrets." he said. "You could call us a special ops group." said Ace. "We were mainly in the 'fiend removal' business." said Ironsight. The sniper continued, saying, "We were lurking around on Mt. Gagazet, wiping out some of the fiends when we stumbled upon the ronso. We managed to get out of there." Ironsight then looked over at Sarge. "Not before Sarge picked a fight with some of them to give us 'time to escape'." he said. Sarge chuckled. "Well, it worked didn't it?" he said. Ironsight looked back at the others and continued. "Apparently, Kelk was impressed with the fact that we could kill any fiend on the mountain and he took Sarge's fighting prowess as an indication to how good we were at what we did." explained Ironsight. "We got called in to talk with the maesters and were hired on the spot for whatever jobs they needed us for." Yuna spoke up. "What kind of things did you do for the maesters?" she asked. Sarge said, "Our big thing was killing sinspawn. The three of us constantly kept track of Sin and removed the sinspawn whenever there weren't summoners around." "Did you guys ever try taking on Sin?" asked Tidus. "There was an incident when Sin finally took notice that someone was killing off the sinspawn with relative ease." said Ace. All eyes were on him as he drove the stryker. "We were trailing Sin across the sea. He noticed us and engaged us in combat." Ace explained. "Ace was the only reason we got out of that situation alive." commented Sarge. "But we learned from that fight that guns were useless against Sin." Sarge said, drawing the attention of the group. "We have some of the best weapons in Spira at our disposal, and the cannon on our ship barely scratched him." said Sarge. "We knew that conventional weapons were useless against Sin." said Ironsight. "So, when the maesters told us about Operation Mi'hen..." said Ironsight. "And after we told them they were full of shit," interrupted Ace. "Our business relationship was ended." Ironsight said.

"We took a break from the action afterwards and didn't really get back into anything 'till you started a ruckus at Bevelle." said Sarge, nodding at Yuna. "Sinspawn started popping up everywhere, so we decided Spira could use a little more help." Sarge added. "After Sin was finally killed for good, we reverted back to fiend removal, and have been doing plenty of 'removing' since then." Ironsight stated. There was a slight pause before Rikku tilted her head. "How come you guys didn't help out anyone directly?" asked the Al Bhed girl. "We're not the types for the limelight." replied Sarge. Ironsight chuckled. "Well... you're not, Sarge." he said, smiling.

* * *

Character Profile -

Paine -

"You're not one for words, are ya?" -Ironsight

Class - Warrior

Weapon - Longsword - "Feather"

Overdrive - Brutal Sword

Full Throttle

Rough Divide

Silent and stoic, Paine is a former member of the Crimson Squad, and the Gullwings. Since the Gullwings were disbanded, Paine has traveled Spira, getting into her own share of adventures. Paine was responsible for reuiniting the Gullwings years ago at the Yadonoki Tower, and has kept in touch with her friends, telling them of her own story.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Final Fantasy X and X-2 are owned and created by Square Enix. I take no credit in creating the characters or world in either games. I have, however, created characters of my own in this story and do take credit for them.

* * *

The stryker drove down the Mi'hen Highroad, nearing Luca. The few travelers in the way of the vehicle quickly moved to the side. Inside, music was playing over a small set of speakers set in the interior. Much like the music heard earlier, this was a piece of music that featured electric guitars. The vocalist was an older man. "Champagne for breakfast and a Sherman in my hand. Peached up, Peached Ale, never fails. Must've been a dream, I don't believe where I've been. Come on, let's do it again. Do you... you feel like I do?" Ironsight frowned at the lyrics and shot a glance at Sarge, who appeared to be enjoying the music as it continued. "You're an asshole. 'Do you feel like I do?'" said the sniper. Sarge laughed. "I think it's fitting." Sarge replied. Yuna listened to music, intrigued. "Why haven't I heard this before?" she asked Sarge and Ironsight. There was silence from the two of them. Sarge leaned forward, smiling. "It's no big surprise, Yuna. We found a lot of stuff leftover from the time when Zanarkand existed as an actual city and when machines ran rampant. This is just a bit of music from that era." Sarge explained. Ace chuckled from the front of the stryker. Rikku stretched out while she sat down, Paine glanced at her as she did. "Getting restless?" asked Paine. Rikku shrugged. "Uh... on edge." she replied, looking over at Sarge. "I'm not gonna hit you unless you take a swing at me first, Rikku." Sarge remarked. Tidus had one arm around Yuna and smiled as the group conversed. He looked up towards the front. "Ace, how long do we have until we make it to Luca?" he asked. "We'll be there soon. Unfortunately, we won't be doing much sight-seeing." replied the Deadboy, not looking back. "That's too bad." Tidus said. "I wanted to see the blitzball arena again." he added. Yuna giggled. "There will be other times." she remarked. "This is no time to play sports." said Ironsight. "Who, in their right mind, would put aside saving the world for the sake of scoring a few goals?" the sniper continued. Sarge chuckled. "Well, we would. They've got good prizes. I heard that you could win a legendary ball, or some crap like that." Sarge commented. Immediately, Sarge grinned and looked over at Ironsight. "Go ahead. Say it. Say you've already got legendary balls! I know you want to!" he cackled.

* * *

Ace drove down a road on the outskirts of Luca, circling around the city and heading near the blitzball arena. Yuna looked at Sarge and Ironsight. "How did you guys get your own airship? The only two I know about are the Celsius and the Fahrenheit." the former summoner asked. "Sarge built it." replied Ironsight. Paine looked at Sarge. "You built an airship?" she asked. "By yourself?" added Rikku. Sarge shrugged. "I had Ace and Ironsight help out with some things, but for the most part, yeah." he replied. "Cid can't even do that." said Tidus. "Who are you guys?" Tidus asked. Ironsight smiled. "Just figments of your imagination." answered the sniper. "Seems like it." said Yuna, giggling. "How we doing, Ace?" asked Sarge, looking towards the driver. "We are near the warehouses. Just passing by the docks." he replied. "As soon as we get there, Sarge, get the ship warmed up, and we'll get everyone settled in." said Ace. Ace turned his head slightly, still keeping his eye on the road. "You'll have to forgive us. Our airship isn't as flashy, or as luxurious, as the two the few of you have been in." Ace said. Tidus looked towards Ace. "Is that Sarge's fault?" asked the blitzball star. Ironsight shook with laughter, as did Ace. The Gullwings and Tidus joined in as Sarge looked around, sighed, and said, "Well, excuse me for not being stylish." Ace put on a straight face. "We're here." he said.

Sarge smacked a button near the rear of the stryker and the back opened up as the stryker slowed to a stop. Sarge hopped out and walked out of sight. A few moments later, the sound of metal brushing against metal could be heard. "Can we have our weapons back?" asked Yuna. Ace looked back at them. "Not yet. You'll get them once we get back on the ship." he replied. "Looks like it's all clear here." said Sarge over the radio. "Nobody's been in here since we left." added the Deadboy. The stryker moved again, moving inside a building. The Gullwings, Tidus, and Ironsight climbed out of the stryker. The building they were all in was dimly lit and very open. In the center of it was a black airship. This one was noticeably smaller than either the Fahrenheit or the Celsius. It had two wings with a circular jet on both. Evenly spaced on the ship were small nodes that appeared to have jets of their own in each. The ship was standing on a set of legs that kept it high above the ground, high enough for the stryker to fit under. The Gullwings and Tidus studied it for a moment. "This... this looks like a very bulky missile covered in barnacles." said Paine. Ironsight chuckled as Sarge shook his head. Sarge walked underneath the stryker and opened up a panel. After pressing a few buttons, whirring could be heard from inside the ship and a ramp lowered from the back of the airship, opening up under the jets. Ace drove the stryker around and up the ramp. "All right, everyone up the ramp." barked Sarge. The Gullwings and Tidus began to move towards the ramp with Ironsight close behind them.

"Attention Lady Yuna and company!" yelled a voice. "Prepare to lay down your arms and surrender!" the voice yelled again. "Ace..." growled Sarge, who rushed towards the door of the building. "Get in the ship!" yelled Sarge. The Gullwings, Tidus, and Ironsight quickly moved to the ramp and climbed up. They stepped into a cargo bay. The center was empty, though the walls were lined with an assortment of large lockers, crates, and boxes. "Sarge, what's going on out there?" asked Ace, stepping out of the stryker, which began to close up. Over the radio, Sarge answered, "Looks like someone set up an ambush." Ace looked at Ironsight. "Ironsight, get yourselves to one of the crew dorms and lock yourselves in." he asked. Ironsight nodded, somewhat begrudgingly. "Let's go." Ironsight said and jogged in front of the group to a hatch at the end of the cargo bay. Ace looked at Yuna. "You're with me." he said. Yuna and Tidus looked at each other. They grabbed each other's hand for a brief moment, then broke their hold as they began to go deeper into the ship.

From the cover of the shadows, Sarge peered out of the warehouse. Whilst Sarge was well hidden from sight, he saw people peeking out from corners or hiding on top of buildings. "You think these guys know what we have in here?" asked Sarge. "Doubtful." replied Ace. "I see about a dozen of them spread out amongst the other buildings. They've probably got a trump card hidden somewhere too." Sarge said, looking around. "Doubt it will be enough to counter our 'ship' card." "If you won't surrender, we will come in there and execute you!" yelled the voice again. "I'd love to see you try!" Sarge bellowed. "Go ahead and send your guys in here! The next place they'll rest is in a wooden box!" There was silence from outside the warehouse. Sarge listened closely and could hear footsteps approaching the door. The Deadboy stepped back and gave the door to the warehouse a mighty shove, slamming the door shut. Sarge could hear pounding against the door, followed by gunfire. "Ace, the code to the door will keep 'em from getting in for a bit." said Sarge as he walked back to the ship, climbing up the ramp and closing it behind him. "Let's get this started, Sarge. We need to leave before people start dying." replied Ace. Sarge walked through the cargo bay to a different door. He stepped into a small hallway and walked down it until he arrived to a hatch. He quickly opened it and stepped inside a room full of machinery. Sarge yanked a few levers before the ship rumbled to life.

* * *

Ironsight trailed behind Ace and Yuna, leading Rikku, Paine, and Tidus. The four came across a small intersection, and Ironsight turned down a different path as Ace and Yuna kept running ahead. Tidus, Paine, and Rikku followed. They came to a small corridor with four doors on either side of the hallway. Ironsight pressed a button near one of the doorways and the door it was closest to opened up. "Get in." Ironsight said. Somewhat reluctant, the three did as they were told asked, and Ironsight followed them in. He pressed a button and the door shut behind them. The four stood in a small room with nothing in it but a bunk and a locker. "We're in the room, Ace. Lock it." Ironsight said. "What do we do now?" asked Tidus, after he heard a metallic click from the door. Ironsight sat down, leaning against the wall. "We wait." he said. Rikku plopped down on the bunk as Paine leaned up against one of the walls. Tidus looked around a bit before sitting down next to Rikku. "Think we'll be able to make it out of this all right?" asked Rikku, looking at Ironsight. Ironsight smirked. "We'll be fine." he said. "Sarge and Ace are too good for something like this to take them down." added the sniper.

* * *

"We need to leave before people start dying." said Ace into his radio as he jogged through a metal corridor with Yuna in tow. "Ace," she began. "are people really-" "Not if we can help it." Ace interrupted. Ace and Yuna arrived to the front of the ship, a room with multiple consoles, what looked like passenger seats attached to the walls, and a seat in front of a large glass window that overlooked a larger door of the warehouse. "We're in the room, Ace. Lock it down." Ace heard over the radio. Immediately after hearing that, the Deadboy rushed to a console near the doorway and began to press multiple buttons. A small beep could be heard. He then wheeled around and vaulted over a console, rushing forward before finally sitting down in the seat at the front. Ace exhaled for a moment, waiting. "Have a seat, Yuna." Ace said. Yuna looked around before sitting in the seat at a cluster of the consoles, strapping herself in, looking at multiple blank screens. No sooner had she strapped herself in, the screens in front of her flickered to life and she heard the ship rumble. Yuna looked over and saw multiple holographic screens appear in front of Ace as he sat in the chair. "We're in the room, Ace. Lock it." Ironsight said over the radio. Ace pressed a button on one of his screens, which beeped after he did. "Sarge, how we doing?" asked Ace as he began to press buttons on his screens. "We'll be ready to go here pretty quick, Ace. I'm heading up front now." responded Sarge. "Anything I can do to help?" Yuna asked, to which Ace responded, "Just make sure you're strapped in. This ship can really move." "Lady Yuna! Surrender now!" yelled the voice again, barely audible through the ship. "Sarge, can you give those guys our rebuttal?" Ace said, somewhat frustrated. "Gladly. I'll shut 'em up." responded Sarge.

Back in the metal corridors of the ship, Sarge walked up to a hatch and pried it open, jumping down into a small room and shutting the hatch behind him. In the compartment were panels a seat and a pair of joysticks. Sarge pressed a few buttons before sitting in the seat and grabbing hold of the joysticks. A hatch on the bottom of the ship opened up and a turret slid into view, armed with two cannon barrels and twin multi-barrel machine guns. A large screen appeared in front of Sarge, showing multiple outside views outside the ship, one from the top of the ship, one from the front, one from the back, and one from the turret. Sarge moved the joysticks, turning the turret to face the door of the warehouse. Sarge pulled a trigger on both joysticks and both cannons let out simultaneous "boom"s. The warehouse door was blown off the building, flying into the buildings across from it. "Time to go, Ace." said Sarge. "That'll scare 'em, but if they start coming in here, I might actually have to kill someone."

"Roger." replied Ace. The ship lifted off the ground, drawing the legs standing it up into the ship. Ironsight, Rikku, Paine, and Tidus shook as the airship rumbled. The engines lit up and burst with blue fire. The airship shot out of the warehouse, flying over the tops of the buildings. Yuna was jerked back in her chair as the ship flew above the city of Luca. "Whoa!" Yuna yelled. Ace smiled as he piloted the ship, flying away from Luca and over the nearby waters. "Sarge? We got anyone following us?" asked Ace. Sarge turned the turret, studying the four views he was presented with. He saw something rising up from the nearby land, something that began flying towards the ship. "Looks like we do, Ace." said Sarge. Ace raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. Sarge kept watching the screen. Sarge gripped the joysticks as the small shapes became discernable. "Looks like whoever doing things around here sent a lot of birds after us." Sarge said. "And I think they're catching up on us, too." remarked Sarge as he began to take aim. "No small feat. The speeds we're going... fiends shouldn't be catching up to us." Ace said. Sarge pulled the triggers of the joysticks and the cannons on the turret began firing. In the distance, explosions could be seen in the cloud of approaching birds as they drew closer. "They're taking hits. Think I see some pyreflies." said Sarge as he kept firing the cannons. "Doesn't look like they're going down too quick, Ace. I'd rather not waste our heavy equipment on them." Sarge added, still blasting the cloud of birds. "Huh... Looks like they're zuu." groaned Sarge.

"Hmm..." Ace pondered, still piloting the ship. "Well, we've got a bit of time before they catch up. I'll try losing them. Think of a 'Plan C'." the pilot said. Sarge didn't respond, still firing the cannons, blasting apart monster after monster. "Hey Ace!" yelled Sarge, grinning. "How about a 'Phoenix'?" Ace tilted his head. "Been a while since pulled that one off. Think it will take care of them?" replied Ace. Sarge rose from his seat and climbed back up to the corridor he descended from. "Oh yeah. It's gonna work." Sarge said, pulling himself out of the hatch and making his way back to the engine room. "I'll be ready here in a sec." said Sarge as he walked into the engine room. Sarge began to type away at a console. "What are you planning?" Yuna asked Ace. Ace answered, "We're planning to deal with a problem right now. I don't want these birds following us, trying to ruin the paint job." "Everything's ready, Ace." said Sarge. "Just give the word." "Ironsight, the four of you should brace yourselves." the pilot said. "Against what!?!" yelled Ironsight. Ace didn't answer. Ace ran his fingers over the holograms in front of him. Multiple lights began to pop up as the ship began to turn. The engines on the back of the ship and the engine on the left wing dimmed as the ship began to drift through the air, turning slightly. Then, the nodes on the right side of the ship near the rear exploded with fire, spinning the ship so that was facing the direction it had just come from. The nodes on the left side of the ship burst, and stopped the ship from drifting any more. The engines on the back and the engine on the left wing of the ship burst with energy and the ship began to fly towards the zuu that were pursuing it.

Inside the ship, Yuna was rocked in her chair, hanging on to whatever she could to keep herself stable. Sarge gripped a pipe over his head and planted his feet, swaying with the ship as it moved. The four in the room were shaken and thrown around as the ship turned. Ironsight braced himself in a corner and grabbed a hold of Paine as she was about to fly into a wall. Tidus slammed into a wall before holding on to the bunk that Rikku was on. Rikku was shaken as she held onto the bunk, but kept herself from falling off. "Attention all passengers." said Ace, his voice resounding over an on board intercom. "We'll be experiencing some light turbulence and then an explosion." said Ace. "You're pulling off a 'Phoenix'?" asked Ironsight as Paine removed herself from the sniper's grasp. "What's that mean?" Tidus asked. Ironsight began to remove his tunic, saying, "It means that it's going to get a little warm in here."

The ship flew towards the oncoming zuu, who began to shriek and wail, flexing their talons. "Sarge?" Ace said. "Ready." grunted Sarge, his hand on a lever. Yuna watched with widened eyes as her sight out of the windows of the ship was quickly filled with zuu, gigantic black and purple birds with gleaming beaks and talons. The ship shook slightly as the zuu bounced off of the hull. "NOW!" yelled Ace. Sarge jerked the lever downward and the engines began to whir at high speeds. Every node on the hull of the ship, the engines on both wings and the engines on the back of the ship exploded with fire. Jets of fire incinerated the zuu as the ship flew through the cloud of fiends. "All right! One more!" Sarge hit a button on a console next to him and the jets of fire increased in size, destroying the last of the zuu. The ship flew on, leaving behind a gigantic cloud of pyreflies.

The inside of the ship grew hotter. Sarge held a freshly lit cigar in between his middle and index fingers as he pressed multiple buttons on a nearby console and jerked a lever downwards. A whirring could be heard throughout the ship as vents throughout the ship began to circulate air. "The AC's on, Ace." said Sarge. "Time to get everyone settled." said Sarge as he walked from the engine room, back into the hallways, and made his way towards the room where Tidus and the others were inside. Sarge pounded on the door. "How's everyone doing in there?" asked Sarge, puffing his cigar. "It got warm in here... fast." said Tidus, beads of sweat beginning to appear on his forehead. "Ah, you'll be fine. We need to get you guys into your own rooms for the evening." said Sarge. "We'll go one at a time." "Do we have a choice?" asked Rikku. "Well, I could come in there and knock everyone out, but I get the feeling that you guys had been beaten up enough by me." Sarge replied. "Ace, I'm moving people. Unlock the door." A metallic click could be heard and the door slide open. "All right, Sarge." Ace replied. Sarge peered in, seeing the four inside spread out in the room. "Who's first?" asked Sarge.

* * *

Ace pressed a button on his holographic screen. "All right, Sarge." said the pilot. He leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. "Well, that was fun." he said, smiling. Yuna unbuckled herself and stood up from the seat, stretching when she was fully upright. Ace turned his head and peered back. "So, what do you think, Yuna? Does our little ship compare to the others you've been on?" he asked. Yuna looked around. "It's not as... cozy... as the others I've been on." the former summoner said. She smiled, adding, "But it does have a certain charm to it." "Glad you like it." Ace said, turning his head forward. "You'll have your own room for as long as you're on the ship. Everyone else will, for that matter." explained Ace. "You'll be free to roam around the ship as you please." Yuna's smile faded. "What about the others?" she asked. Ace responded, "Until we get spheres for everyone, those that don't have them will be confined to their rooms." Yuna's smile faded. "You're locking them all up?" she asked. "I know it's not pretty, but please understand that we're just covering our bases." said Ace. "We can't have people running around who could potentially sabotage our ship." added the pilot. Yuna walked back to the hallways and saw Rikku walking down one of the corridors with Sarge behind her. "Yunie!" said Rikku, smiling slightly. Yuna walked over to the Al Bhed girl who walked into an open room with a bunk and a locker. Yuna stepped towards the door but Sarge put his arm out, blocking her path. Yuna stopped in her tracks and looked at Sarge, who shook his head, cigar smoke wafting from his mouth. Yuna looked back at Rikku. "Lock it." said Sarge. The door of the room shut and a metallic click could be heard. Sarge walked back down the corridor where he came from. Yuna brushed her fingers on the door before following Sarge down the hall. "Wanna know where Tidus will be staying?" Sarge asked. The cigar-smoking man chuckled at that comment. "Of course you do." he muttered. Sarge made his way through the ship back to the room where Ironsight, Tidus, Rikku, and Paine were being held.

Sarge pressed a button near the door and the door slid open. Sitting inside were Ironsight, Tidus, and Paine, all of whom were silent. Tidus looked up and met Yuna's gaze, then smiled. "Let's go, Tidus." said Sarge. Tidus got up and walked out into the hallway Sarge closed the door. Sarge walked in front of Tidus and Yuna, leading them down the metal hallways. "Are you all right?" Tidus asked Yuna as they walked. Yuna nodded. "What about you?" she asked. "I'm fine." Tidus responded. The two gripped each other's hands and walked in silence for a few moments before Sarge stopped in front of an open door leading to a room with a bunk and a locker. Sarge jerked his head towards the room. Yuna and Tidus stopped. The two looked at each other and slowly let go of each other's hands. Tidus walked into the room, and Sarge shut the door as soon as he was in. "Lock it." said Sarge. Yuna leaned against the door then slowly slid down so that she was sitting against it. On the other side of the door, Tidus sat with his back against it, his head tilted up and his eyes closed.

Paine and Ironsight sat in silence, both of them leaning up against a different wall, both with their heads tilted down. "Nervous?" said Ironsight, a small smile creeping across his lips. Paine scoffed. "The three of you know what you're doing." she said. "Rikku and Yuna are only acting like they are because they've never been put in a situation like this." "And you have?" asked Ironsight, tilting his head up. Paine smiled. "Not exactly. But I do realize the severity of what's happening here." she said. Paine looked over at Ironsight, who did not return her stare. The leather-clad warrior said, "You three know how to handle yourselves. I'll give you that." Ironsight's smile grew wider as he shrugged. "The Gullwings and a famous guardian aren't too shabby either." Ironsight responded. The door to the room slid open and Sarge could be heard saying, "Paine, let's go." Paine pushed off the wall and walked into the hallways. "'Night, Ironsight." Sarge said before the door shut and a metallic click sounded off. Ironsight looked over at the door. "What? I don't get to sleep in my own room!?!" yelled the sniper.

Yuna's eyes fluttered open. She lifter her head looked around, disoriented. She felt a metal floor below her and a slight weight draped across her entire body. Small lights in the ceiling of the hallways illuminated the walkways. Yuna sat up and rubbed her head, trying to shake off the numbness of sleep and realized that she had fallen asleep outside of Tidus's door and that a brown wool blanket had been draped over her. Yuna perked up as she began to hear music. The former summoner stood up and walked through the hallways, walking towards where she heard the music. She eventually stepped in to the cockpit. The lights were dimmed and there were metal shutters over the windows, blocking the view. Smooth and slow drumbeats accompanied a string bass and mellow trumpets as Yuna looked around the cockpit, eventually spotting someone sitting in the pilot's seat up front, the holographic screens missing. Yuna could hear a woman's voice as she moved closer to the figure. The figure was Ace, who held a sphere in his hand. A small figure was standing on top of it. It was a woman with flowing black hair, porcelain skin, and wearing a white sun dress. "...waiting for you to get home. We're all here for you, Rick. I love you." the woman said. Ace lowered the sphere and looked back at Yuna, smiling slightly. "Sleep well?" he asked. Yuna nodded, pulling the blanket over her body. "What time is it?" she asked. "Early morning." responded Ace leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. He put his feet up on one of the nearby consoles and twitched his right foot in time with the music.

Yuna sat down next to the chair, yawning as she sat. "So... where are we now?" she asked. Yuna added, "It doesn't feel like we're moving." Ace pressed a button on a console nearby and the shutters slid open slowly, revealing darkness, with occasional streaks of dark blue in the scenery. Yuna looked over at Ace, confused. Ace looked up. "We're underwater." he said. Yuna looked back out the window. "That's... we're underwater?" she repeated. "Not sure where. Sarge said that he set us down somewhere on the corner of he map." Yuna walked up to one of the windows and watched as various aquatic life darted in and out of view. "It makes sense. The last place someone would look for us would be in the water. I bet whoever's behind the aeons is sending fiends in the air and on the ground. I doubt they'd ever think an airship could make it down here." said Ace, grinning. Yuna turned around and walked back to where she had been sitting and sat back down, saying, "Your ship is something else, Ace."

Neither of them spoke for a short while. Then, Yuna turned her head to Ace. "Who was that lady in the sphere?" Ace chuckled. "Someone very, very, special to me." said Ace. He looked at Yuna, his smile faded from what it was. "I'd really appreciate it if we kept it just between the two of us. Okay?" he said. Ace looked back out the windows of the ship. "She's not someone I really want to talk about and I don't want her being the subject of conversation. At all." he added. Yuna paused for a moment before nodding silently. "Glad we understand each other." said Ace.

"Who do I thank for the blanket?" asked Yuna. Ace chuckled. "I saw you laying out in the hallway and it would be a shame if the legendary of Spira was out of action because of the sniffles." said Ace. Yuna giggled somewhat. "Though, I can understand why you were sleeping outside of his room. I do apologize if we've been causing strain to the relationship between you two." said Ace. Yuna shook her head. "Oh. Well, it's not like we haven't been apart before." she said. "It's just... I don't know." said Yuna, turning her head away. "This is an uncomfortable situation for the group of you." said Ace. "You don't agree with our methods? Or you don't trust us?" continued the pilot. Yuna didn't respond. "Probably both, I'm assuming." Ace added. Yuna looked to Ace. "I trust you." she said. "Not nice to lie, Yuna. You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings." Ace responded. Yuna sighed. "I'd trust you more over Sarge or Ironsight." she said. "Well, I can understand that." said Ace. The pilot continued, saying, "Sarge can be a little direct at times and Ironsight can be difficult to associate with." Ace looked at Yuna. "We know what we're doing, Yuna. Try not to worry." Ace explained. Ace turned back to the windows and pressed a button on the console. "Try to get some rest, Yuna. We'll need everyone at their best if we're going to take down an aeon tomorrow." said the pilot. Yuna slowly stood up and walked out of the cockpit and made her way down the hallways, passing by Tidus's door and leaning against it briefly before continuing her walk to her bunk.

* * *

Character Profile -

Ace -

"Here's something you can't do." -Ace

Class - Gun Mage

Weapon - Twin handguns - "Mer" and "Neb"

Overdrive - Pistolero

Equilibrium

Rushing Ace

One of the Deadboys. The pilot of the group, Ace has been nominated as "the guy who makes the plans" by Sarge and Ironsight, which is a trend that seems to carry over to whatever group they might be working with. An unrivaled strategist and tactician, Ace is quick at figuring out his opponents and quick to develop a plan to defeat them. Outside of his tactical abilities, Ace is skilled with his handguns, and has incorporated the use of black magic and gun ballet into his combat style.


End file.
